Christmas Miracles
by JoyfulHeartEO
Summary: COMPLETE W/ Epilogue! In this story, the end of the revival is a little different. What if Lorelai was the one that was pregnant instead of Rory? This is set five years after the revival just days before Christmas. Lorelai loves the Christmas season. She loves seeing it through her child's eyes. But when something happens to threaten that magic spirit, how will Luke save the day?
1. Part 1

**A/N - Okay so...the idea for this story literally came to me in a dream last night and I just ran with it. I don't know why I loved the idea so much but I just do. I mean it has two of my favorite things, JavaJunkie and Christmas so that must be the reason hahaha!**

 **Anyway - there are a few notes for you to understand the story. Before I go any further, REVIVAL SPOILERS in this note so you've been warned. In this story, the end of the revival is a little different. What if Lorelai was the one that was pregnant instead of Rory? This is set five years after the revival just days before Christmas. Lorelai loves the Christmas season as we know and loves seeing it through her child's eyes. But when something happens to threaten that magic spirit, how far will Luke go to save the day? Read and find out ;)**

 **This will be a two part story so here is Part 1. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Lorelai Gilmore Danes sat at the counter of her husband's Diner nursing a cup of coffee. It was December 23rd and her daughter Rory had come home that morning from New York to spend the holidays with her family. April was with her Mother this year but would be visiting for New Years. Rory was currently running last minute errands with her younger sibling.

Lorelai smiled as she thought about her five year old. Her miracle of a child. The one she thought she'd never have but the one she knew now she could never live without. It had been a shock to all of them but a very welcome surprise. The day before her magical wedding to Luke after years and years of waiting, she got the phone call she hadn't expected. She thought her lack of her period was due to stress or may even the dreaded change…

But instead her Doctor had informed her that she, Lorelai Gilmore was indeed pregnant. She remembered telling her daughter on the steps of the gazebo and the shocked look on her face. And she was pretty sure she'd never forget the look on Luke's face when she told him that night as they danced during their second wedding. He went from white as a ghost to a man with the biggest smile she knew she would ever see.

Though it was a difficult and risky pregnancy, Lorelai was determined to see it through. She felt that this little bundle was meant to be in this world and she was willing to do anything and everything to make it happen. She gladly gave up coffee without a fight to make sure that he or she was healthy and followed every order, including going on bed rest after only 5 months. It was hard for all of them, but in the end worth it.

Having no patience, Lorelai insisted on knowing the sex as soon as possible. The Doctors told her it was a girl and she was thrilled (but to be honest she would have been thrilled either way). The name Charlotte had been picked after many heated debates between husband and wife. And then on the day of little Charlotte's delivery...she surprised them all. Because SHE was actually a HE.

Both Luke and Lorelai couldn't help but laugh as the Doctor held up the baby and whispered nervously, " _Well...I guess he was hiding it_?"

As Luke held their son and stared down at him in disbelief, he turned to his wife and said, " _No doubt he's your son. Playing tricks on us from inside the womb."_

Lorelai had held him close, wondering how it was possible that they could have made something so perfect. After all they had been through she was holding their son. A little bit of Luke and a little bit of Lorelai. And he was instantly her whole world. When she turned to her husband and said, " _This is our son. Charles William Danes."_ She saw tears in his eyes and knew that they were exactly where they were meant to be.

Lorelai had been worried that she was too old to care for a child. That she wouldn't remember what needed to be done. That a boy would throw her for a loop. But from the second the Doctors handed him to her, she and Luke were both hooked. They gladly welcomed sleepless nights because they were doing it together. Charlie was a quiet baby which surprised them both but so full of life. Looking out and trying to catch every piece of the world that was offered to him.

Five years later, he was still just as curious. He was the perfect mix of serious like his father and adventurous like his Mother. And much like Rory had, little Charlie had all of Stars Hollow wrapped around his finger. Lorelai lifted her coffee cup to her lips and couldn't help but smile thinking about the little boy with the mop of curly black hair and bright blue eyes.

Luke rounded the corner and saw the happy look on his wife's face, "What are you thinking about?" He asked with a smile.

She turned towards him and sighed happily, "Our adorable son." She giggled, "We did good with that one Luke."

Luke smiled and leaned against the counter, "Well he's only five...so let's see how he is at 18 and then we can make the final call on how well we did."

She rolled her eyes and smacked him, "Luke…"

He tapped the counter once and leaned forward to kiss her, "We did good Lorelai." He smiled again, "Where is the little rug rat anyway?"

"Shopping for a gift for you and I with Rory." She said happily, "Rory insisted on having uninterrupted Charlie time."

"I am sure that April will insist on the same thing for New Years." He said with a laugh.

Lorelai raised an eyebrow and smirked, "Maybe that means we'll actually be able to stay up till midnight and ring in the New Year naked!"

Luke chuckled, "More than likely we'll both be passed out before nine."

She stuck her tongue out at him, "Let a girl dream would ya?"

He smirked and leaned forward to whisper huskily, "Tell you what, I'll set an alarm for 11:55 and wake you up in the dirtiest way I know how."

"Promises, promises." She said waving her hand at him, "I'll believe it when I see it."

"In this case you'll believe it when you feel it." He said leaning further across the counter towards her.

Lorelai blushed and smiled, "Are you flirting with me Mr. Danes?"

Luke smiled and let his eyes travel over her face; she was still the most beautiful woman in the world to him after all these years. And he knew for a fact she always would be. "I may be. You got a problem with that?"

She rested her chin on her hand and smiled, "Oh most definitely not. You just surprised me is all. Usually you're not such a public guy. But you know I love a little PDA from time to time. Lets the ladies know I've still got you in my clutches."

Luke chuckled and kissed her gently, "You'll always have me Lorelai. Everyone knows that."

Lorelai smiled and turned to see Patty and Babette staring intently at them, "Hear that ladies? He'll always be mine. So it's probably time to give up."

Patty sighed and used a menu to fan herself, "Lord have mercy...you are one lucky woman Lorelai Gilmore."

Lorelai giggled and flashed her rings at them, "Lorelai Gilmore _Danes_. And trust me...I know."

Luke laughed and shook his head as he turned and walked back towards the kitchen. Lorelai watched him go and sighed happily again wondering what she had ever done to get so damn lucky. Just then, the Diner door burst open and she was instantly snapped out of her daze.

"Luke!" Taylor yelled as he walked up to the counter, "Lucas!"

Lorelai smirked knowing that whenever anyone (especially Taylor) referred to her husband as Lucas it always provided a lot of entertainment for her in the form of a Luke rant. "Taylor, what the hell did I tell you about calling me that?" He yelled from the kitchen.

Lorelai giggled as she heard Taylor sigh, "Would you just come out here please? I need to speak to you!"

She heard her husband mumble something that she was pretty sure reminded with Duck and had to bite her lip to keep from laughing any harder. Luke came out from the kitchen and leaned against the edge, glaring at the older man. "What do you want Taylor?"

"I see you put some decorations in your window." He said pointing to the front window of the Diner.

Luke looked back at the drawings his son had made of Santa and his reindeer, "Yeah, so?"

"Why is it that you put those particularly…" He grimaced when he looked at them, "Tacky one's up when you refused to put up the town approved ones?"

"Hey!" Lorelai yelled defensively, "Charlie made those for Luke. They are adorable."

"Yes well Rudolph looks like he's dying in that big one." He said with a sigh, "He won't be the next Van Gogh."

"He's a five year old kid." Luke said angrily, "And if I want to hang up his art work I can. He's my son and this is my Diner. I decide what goes up. Not you."

"But if you would just put up the silver and gold-" He started.

Luke put his hand up, "Taylor I am not having this argument with you again. Every damn year it's the same thing for every stupid holiday. I'm never going to give in so why won't you just drop it?"

"Because if we want this town to flourish in the way it deserves, we need all of its members to be on board." He said with a sigh, "You need to be more festive Luke. Would it kill you to put some holiday specials on the menu for once?"

"He can make you a disgusting Santa Burger." Lorelai piped up from beside him.

Luke pointed at his wife, "You stay out of this. You always get me in more trouble."

She smiled innocently and shrugged her shoulders, "Isn't that what I'm hear for? To get you in trouble and mesmerize you with my pretty, pretty face?"

Luke gave her a blank stare then turned back to Taylor, "I'm not putting up your decorations and I'm not taking down Charlie's. They're staying. So drop it."

"You know I don't understand you sometimes Luke. So willing to help some people and yet so stubborn when it comes to others." He said angrily.

"I help the people that don't drive me completely insane." Luke answered, "And you Taylor Doose are number one on the list of people who drive me completely insane."

"Well isn't she number two?" Taylor asked pointing a finger at Lorelai, "How does she manage to get away with it?"

Lorelai giggled, "Because I drive him insane in more than one way if you know what I mean."

"Geez…" Luke said hanging his head, "Lorelai don't-"

"What are you talking about? Is this one of your innuendo's that I don't understand?" Taylor asked.

"She's saying she drives him insane in the sack Taylor." Babette called from behind them.

Lorelai started laughing harder and Luke groaned, "We're moving." He said to his wife.

Lorelai giggled and shrugged her shoulders, "Well she's right. That's exactly what I meant and tell me it isn't true...I dare you. We both know if you deny it you'll never get me to do-"

"Stop talking." He said quickly as he put his hand over his mouth, "I beg of you. All I want for Christmas is for you to stop talking at this moment."

She growled playfully as he pulled his hand back, "Oh fine you big baby. I'm shutting up now."

Luke sighed, "Thank you." He turned back to Taylor who looked slightly uncomfortable but not ready to give up the fight, "Are you still here?"

Taylor crossed his arms over his chest, "All I'm asking you to do is put up-"

"No." Luke said shaking his head quickly.

"But if you just-" Taylor tried again.

"I said no." Luke said again, and when Taylor opened his mouth to speak he cut him off again, "No. No. No. And did I mention...no?"

Taylor huffed, "Well you are just getting more and more unagreeable as you get older."

"And you get more and more psychotic as you get older." Luke said with a laugh, "What's your point?"

Taylor narrowed his eyes and put his hands on his hips, "Well fine. But you might want to tell your _son_ that Santa's suit is red not orange."

Luke rolled his eyes again, "He's just a kid Taylor. Could you let it go?"

"Fine. If you don't care about your son's future than I certainly won't. But someday when he realizes Santa Claus isn't real he'll be sad you didn't fix his picture earlier." Taylor said.

"Santa Claus isn't real?" A small yet familiar voice called from behind them.

The Diner went silent for a moment and all eyes turned to see Charlie standing in the doorway of the Diner. His small hand was being held by Rory's larger one. His usually cheerful face now had a frown, and his blue eyes were wide and full of tears.

"Charlie." Lorelai breathed out, "Oh honey-"

"He's not real?" Charlie said as his lower lip trembled, "He's fake?"

Lorelai hopped down from her stool and scooped up her son, "Oh buddy no of course Santa is real!"

Luke glared at Taylor who looked shocked at what had just happened, "Nice Taylor. Real nice." He rounded the corner and walked up to his wife and son, "Charlie-"

Charlie rested his head on his Mother's shoulder and wailed, "But who ate all my cookies last year?"

Lorelai looked back at her husband desperately, "Honey Santa is real. I swear he is!"

Charlie leaned back in her arms and looked at Taylor, "Then why did Taylor say he wasn't?"

Luke sighed, "Because Taylor has been on the naughty list since the day he was born buddy. He is just jealous of all the little boys and girls who do get presents on Christmas morning."

Charlie sniffled slightly and watched Taylor carefully; "But-"

"Come on." Lorelai said cutting him off as he squeezed her, "Of course Santa is real. Remember, you sent him a letter last year and he brought you everything on your list! And he ate all the cookies and-"

"I want to go home." Charlie said with a small pout.

Lorelai sighed and looked at Luke who looked just as sad, "Okay...okay we can go."

Rory looked at her Step-Father, "I'm sorry I-"

Luke shook his head, "This isn't your fault." He said with a sad smile, he turned back to his wife and son, "Go on home. I'll be there in a bit."

Lorelai nodded and rubbed Charlie's back as she turned to walk out the front door. Rory grabbed her Mom's bag and coat before following her outside. Luke watched them leave, then turned and stomped back to Taylor.

Taylor put his hands up, "Luke how was I supposed to know that they would come in at that moment?"

"Are you happy now?" Luke growled, "You just ruined a little boy's Christmas."

Taylor sighed, "Well he would have figured it out someday, right?"

"He's five years old!" Luke yelled, throwing his hands up, "Christmas and Santa Claus are practically the biggest things in a kids life at that age."

Taylor frowned, "Well I-"

"No you know what…" Luke said shaking his head, "Just...just go Taylor alright? I'm not putting up your damn decorations and now I gotta go try and salvage my kids childhood."

Luke walked past him and around the counter, to go back to the kitchen. Taylor stood there with a nervous and sad expression. All eyes were on him as he turned and began to walk out of the Diner with a heavy heart.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Luke pulled up in front of the house and walked up the steps. When he got there he saw Rory sitting on the couch and could hear his son crying upstairs. Luke sighed and threw his keys on the coffee table as he toed off his boots.

"I take it he's still upset." He said sadly.

"He's been crying since we got home." Rory said with a frown, "Mom can't get him to stop."

"I know I've threatened to kill Taylor many times in my life but this time I actually might do it." Luke said angrily.

"I know…" Rory said softly, "But I doubt he meant for that to happen. How would he know that I was coming in with Charlie?"

"Yeah maybe." Luke said with a shrug, "But how the hell do we explain this one to the kid?"

Rory frowned, "I don't know." She paused and stood up, "I told Lane I would come by and help her wrap gifts. You guys gonna be okay here?"

Luke nodded, "Yeah go ahead. I had Caesar close so I could come check on things here."

Rory smiled sadly, "Alright. Call me if there's anything I can do."

"Will do kid." He said squeezing her arm before he turned to walk up the stairs.

He walked towards his son's room just beside his and Lorelai's. The door was open a crack and he poked his head inside. The scene in front of him caused his heart to crack. Charlie was ripping up his Christmas coloring book while Lorelai sat on the bed pleading with him to stop.

"You lied!" Charlie yelled as he crumpled up the pieces of paper.

"Honey we didn't lie. Santa is real!" She tried to reason with him, "If you just-"

"Taylor said he isn't!" He said sniffling, "And Taylor knows everything."

"Taylor does not know everything." Luke said walking into the room, "That I can assure you is false bud. Just like I can assure you that Santa Claus is real."

Charlie stopped and looked up at his Dad, "I don't believe you."

Luke looked over at his wife who looked just as sad as his son, "Why not? Other than what you heard Taylor say, why don't you think he's real?"

"Because." Charlie said crossing his little arms over his chest.

Luke laughed and sat down beside his wife on the bed, "Because? That's all you got?"

Charlie huffed, "Dad…" He groaned.

"So like your Mother." He said with a shake of his head, he smiled and put his hand out, "Come here."

Charlie hesitated only for a moment before stepping towards his parents, "What?"

"Charlie, Santa Claus is real. And he's going to come tomorrow night while you're asleep and leave you presents under the tree." He said as he pulled him up onto his lap.

He heard his son sniffle slightly, "If Santa is real then why didn't he give me a baby brother last Christmas?"

Lorelai grimaced slightly, "We tried to tell you bud...babies are one of the things that Santa can't make."

"Well then how are babies made?" Charlie asked curiously.

Luke groaned, "That's a conversation for another day bud...when you're older."

Charlie sighed and hopped off of his father's lap, "That's what you always say."

They watched him go back to ripping up his coloring book. Lorelai leaned forward on her knees and stared at her little boy, "Buddy-"

"I want to be alone." Charlie said as he turned his back to them.

Lorelai and Luke looked at each other and Luke nodded his head slowly. With a sigh, Lorelai stood up and walked out of the room. Luke held back just for a moment, then stood up and walked over to his son, "Are we still going to make cookies later?" He asked his son.

"I don't know if I feel like it." Charlie said sadly as he pushed aside his book.

Luke took a deep breath and then sighed. Leaning forward he pressed a kiss to the top of his curls. "Mom and I will be downstairs alright? You come get us if you need us."

When Charlie didn't respond, Luke just nodded once and pushed himself up again. He walked back out to the hallway and saw Lorelai leaning against the wall with tears in her eyes. He shut his son's door and put his hand on her arm, "Lorelai-"

"All the magic is gone." She said with a sniffle, "Just like that it's over."

"He might change his mind." Luke whispered softly not wanting his son to overhear.

Lorelai shook her head and began to walk down the hall and down the steps, "I don't know about that. He seems pretty convinced Taylor is right. He takes these things seriously. He's like you in that way."

Luke followed her down to the living room, "Well we knew at some point we'd get here."

Lorelai turned back to him, "I thought we had more time!" She said softly, "He's only five Luke. He's supposed to be running around like a maniac these next few days. Waiting up all night on Christmas Eve to try and hear the bells. And his face should light up when he wakes up and see all the presents under the tree." She pouted, "And now he's going to be sad and disillusioned."

Walking over to her, Luke pulled her against his chest and kissed her forehead, "He's going to believe Lorelai. He's your son."

"He's our son." She whispered as she snuggled into his embrace.

"Our miracle of a son." He said with a smile as he rubbed circles against her back.

She smiled and pulled back, "Remember last year when he dressed up Paul Anka like Santa?" She frowned, "His last Christmas with us…"

"Paul Anka was a good sport." Luke whispered, "And he loved Charlie."

"What a crappy year for the poor kid. He lost his best friend and found out Santa wasn't real." She pouted and fell back on the couch behind her.

Luke sighed and sat down beside her, "It's been a tough few months for him. That's for sure."

"I wanted this Christmas to be special." She said, "He's finally really old enough to take it all in. And we got him the bike he wanted and he was gonna be so excited."

"He'll still be excited." Luke said squeezing her knee.

"Will he?" She asked looking over at him, "Or is he gonna refuse to come out of his room?"

Luke glanced back over at the stairs, "I don't know."

She frowned and took his hand in hers, "I wish I didn't have to go get my Mom tomorrow. I want her here of course but I feel bad leaving for the day."

"You'll be back for dinner." Luke said, "And Charlie will be happy to have his Grandma here."

"I know." She said resting her head on his shoulders, "I just wish I could be here to try and convince him that Santa is real."

He squeezed her hand gently, "It's going to be okay. You're always telling me to believe in Christmas miracles. Maybe this will be one of them."

She smiled softly, "Yeah, maybe…"

"And Charlie has always been a miracle on his own." He said with a shrug, "Always surprising us. I think he'll come through with this one too."

Tilting her head up to look at her husband she smiled, "I'm really glad you're my baby Daddy."

Luke chuckled, "Well I'm glad to have been of some service to you in all the years we've known each other."

She laughed and leaned forward to kiss him, "Yeah...I was starting to lose hope that you'd be good for anything."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Taylor was right about one thing...you do drive me completely insane."

"Ah yes." She said lifting a hand, "But I was right too. I drive you insane in more ways than one. So you can't kill me or you lose the other crazy stuff too."

Luke chuckled and cupped her face in his hands, "I love you crazy lady."

"I love you too." She said pecking his lips gently, she sat up pushed herself off the couch, "I'm gonna go throw some laundry in. Hopefully Charlie will let me put on his Christmas sheets."

Luke smiled and squeezed her hand as she left the room. He sat on the couch and listened to her hum softly to herself as she worked. He thought about all the ways Lorelai managed to make Christmas magical for all of them. Even before Charlie was born. Sometimes he felt like she still believed in Santa Claus the way she lit up like a Christmas tree when the calendar turned to December 1st.

And it wasn't about the presents for her. Though she did love the presents...he knew that. But it was the spirit of the whole season. Before her, Christmas was really just another day. At least it had been since his Mom died. But after meeting her...it became so much more. It became a time in the year when absolutely anything could happen. Every Christmas he spent with her she surprised him in more ways than one. With her ample amounts of energy, generosity, spirit and love. She always managed to get the perfect gift for absolutely everyone and always gushed about anything anyone gave her, even if it was terrible.

Once Charlie was born, Christmas took on a whole new meaning. Their house turned into Santa's Workshop. There were movies, lights, music, dancing, singing and cooking galore. The last four years she had filled each day of December with a special surprise even when he was a newborn. It was like he could see the magic of Christmas in her eyes and quite honestly, it made him fall in love with her all over again.

If he was being honest, the moment he saw her hold their son he felt as though his heart had tripled in size. When Lorelai had brought up the idea of surrogacy, he was against it but not for the reasons she thought. If he was ever going to have another child he wanted to be there from start to finish. He wanted to see the woman he loved pregnant with his son or daughter. He wanted to be there for the crazy cravings and the emotional meltdowns. He wanted to be there for the birth despite how gross and terrifying it might be. He wanted it all. And he wanted it with Lorelai.

But over time, he assumed they had lost their chance. And as happy as he was with the life they did have, deep down he wished they had done things differently. He wished they had a kid of their own. So the day of their wedding when she told him she was pregnant, after the initial shock had worn off, those little dreams of being there for it all came back to the surface.

As he watched Lorelai's belly grow swollen with their baby, his love for them both grew. He was pretty sure he hadn't been able to breath for the full nine months until he knew they were both safe. And it wasn't easy. There were moments when the Doctors told them to prepare for the possibility that something could go wrong.

But if Luke Danes knew anything, he knew that Lorelai Gilmore Danes was nothing but stubborn. And she was determined to have this baby no matter what anyone had said. That didn't mean that in the hospital after her water broke, that she hadn't turned to him and whispered the words he had been dreading. _"If something goes wrong...you save the baby."_

They had argued. He had cried. She had cried. But in the end, she took his hands in hers, and her blue eyes bore into his. She told him that this child, their child was meant to come into this world. And if something happened, she knew that he could do this without her. He had insisted he couldn't, but she squeezed his hands tighter and made him promise. He couldn't say the words then; he only nodded his head and said a silent prayer to anyone that was listening to keep them both safe.

And on July 1st at 8:01am, Charles William Danes came into the world at 7lbs, 5oz and 18 inches long. Of course they had been under the impression that he was a she, but something about it didn't surprise Luke. Nothing in their lives ever turned out exactly how they had planned. And yet...the surprises were the moments he loved most.

Looking from the staircase, to the kitchen Luke realized in that moment that he had to find a way to save Christmas. Charlie and Lorelai deserved that. And in typical Luke fashion, he wasn't about to let anything or anyone hurt the two most important people in his life. So, he stood up quickly, called out to his wife he had an errand to run and then set off to get to work.

Tomorrow was Christmas Eve, every second count if he had to totally embarrass himself to make it happen...

* * *

 **So what did you think? Kinda holiday sap but...the season must be getting to me! Like I said, this was literally a dream I had last night. JavaJunkie is officially taking over my life hahaha! I'm also half way through he next chapter of "If You Ever Want To Fall In Love" so check out the chapter I posted yesterday and I will update that as well as this soon! Thanks guys!**

 **Happy Holidays!**


	2. Part 2

**Hey guys! I am so glad you are liking this story! All your feedback has got me so inspired that I decided to add a little more to it. It was intended to be a 2 part story but will not be a 3 part story with a 4th added as an epilogue. I hope you enjoy. And for all my Jess lovers out there...there may be a little surprise in here for you too ;)**

 **More soon!**

* * *

The following morning, Lorelai and Luke were both fast asleep in bed. Luke had the day off to stay with Charlie while Lorelai went to pick up her Mother. Lorelai was asleep on her back, both arms draped over her head on the pillow. Luke was lying on his stomach with one arm draped over Lorelai's waist. Neither of them heard the door creak open or the pitter-patter of small feet on the hardwood floor.

Charlie pulled himself up on the bed and stared at his sleeping parents hoping they would just wake up. But when that didn't work, he reached out and poked his Mom on the leg. She stirred slightly and looked down at her son as Luke continued to sleep beside him.

"Charlie?" She asked in a raspy, sleep filled voice.

Charlie took a deep breath and asked, "If Santa is so real, then how does he get down the Chimney when he's so big?"

Lorelai sighed and put her head back on the pillow again, "Charlie…"

"And what about the kids that don't have a chimney? Doula doesn't have a chimney so how does Santa leave her presents?" He continued.

She reached one hand down and rubbed Luke's back, "Babe wake up."

Luke groaned and opened one eye slowly, "What? What's wrong?"

"What about the sleigh? How does he carry all those presents in that sleigh? If he's supposed to give presents to every kid in the world he'd need a sleigh as big as the world!" Charlie yelled.

Luke groaned and rolled onto his back, "He's up."

"He's up." Lorelai said softly before sitting up and looking down at her son, "Charlie, Santa is just magical. You know that. He can fit down the chimney and make chimneys when they don't exist. And his sleigh and bag are magical it's like Mary Poppins bag!"

Charlie huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, "Why should I believe you?"

Lorelai reached out and touched his arm, "Santa loves you very much and so do Daddy and I. And Christmas is just one of those days that you don't question, ya know? It's just so wonderful and magical and anything is possible."

Charlie looked over at his Dad, "Are you buying this?"

Luke sighed and sat up, "Charlie Santa Claus is real. And all the things your Mom just said are true, okay?"

Charlie swallowed hard, "I have one more question. For now…"

"Okay…" Lorelai said nervously, "What's that?"

"Is asking Santa to bring back Paul Anka one of those wishes that Santa can't grant?" He asked with a small pout.

Lorelai and Luke's heart cracked at the same time, "Oh honey…" Lorelai said softly, pulling him into her lap, "I know you miss him. We do too. But yeah...Santa can't bring back Paul Anka."

"Just like he can't bring back my Grandpa's and Dad's Mom." He said looking over at Luke.

"That's right." Luke said leaning over to squeeze his son's arm, "I'm sorry Charlie. But as magical as Santa is...he can't bring back people or animals that we've lost. I wish he could too."

Charlie sat silently for a moment and then shifted off his Mom's lap, "I don't know if I believe or not still...why would Taylor say that if it wasn't true?"

"I told you." Luke said softly, "He's always been on the naughty list."

"Miss Patty said she's been on the naughty list too." Charlie said softly.

"But that is for different reasons than Taylor." Luke said with a laugh.

Lorelai smiled and Charlie looked back at his Mom, "What time are you going to get Grandma?"

Lorelai looked over at the clock, "I need to get on the road in about an hour. I'm gonna take the fast ferry over and then help Grandma finish a few things before we come back."

"And she's staying with us for a few days?" He asked.

"Mhm. You get to bunk with Rory for a few nights. Grandma will stay in Rory and April's room." She said.

Charlie was quiet for another minute, "Does Grandma believe in Santa?"

"Of course she does." She said giving him a squeeze.

"Well then I'm gonna have to ask her about it when she gets here." He said climbing off of her lap and down from the bed.

Luke smiled and looked at his wife after his son had left, "I guess you're gonna have to prep your Mom before you get back."

Lorelai sighed and fell back on the bed again, "I guess so."

Luke lay down beside her again and reached a hand out to touch her cheek, "What are you thinking?"

She shrugged slowly and turned her head towards him, "I just feel sad."

Luke sighed and scooted towards her, pulling her into his arms, "You are never sad on Christmas. It's your favorite day of the year."

"There was one Christmas I was sad." She said with a pout looking deep into his eyes.

Luke frowned, "When? I can't remember you ever being sad being on Christmas."

"The year we were apart." She whispered in a soft voice, "When I was…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence for him to understand, "Oh. That year."

She turned so she was facing him completely, "I never thought we'd get here Luke. I thought we lost our last chance."

"But we didn't." He said softly, "And it wasn't easy...it took time and work but we are here. And it's better than we thought it would be because we have Charlie."

Her face brightened slightly, "You remember that first Christmas? He was only a few months old and everyone spoiled him with gifts."

Luke chuckled thinking about his son that year, "But he was more interested in the wrapping paper."

"He rolled around in it for hours by the tree." She said as tears sprung in her eyes, "And he laughed and laughed like it was the best thing anyone had given him. And every year since then he's loved everything about Christmas."

"And he will love it again." He said squeezing her tightly, "He is your son after all."

She sighed, "Luke…"

"And I refuse to let him be more like me than you." He said sternly, "I want him to love life like you."

"You know you're too hard on yourself." She said snuggling into him, "You're an incredible man. And the best Dad to our children."

He smiled when she said our children. At times they felt the need to keep their daughter's separate but with the introduction of Charlie, they became closer than ever as a family. Luke loved seeing Lorelai with April. And Rory had always felt a little bit like his own daughter. He had watched her grow and reveled in all of her accomplishments. The five of them were a family, dysfunctional and unconventional at times but a family nonetheless.

"Not to mention you're the sexiest husband alive." She said running a hand up and down his chest.

He glared at her, "Don't start something you can't finish Gilmore."

"Gilmore-Danes." She said with a laugh, "You always screw that part up."

"Sounds easier to say Gilmore." He said with an eye-roll, "Not that I don't love the added Danes part."

She laughed again and kissed him, "I should start getting ready." She started to pull away but he grabbed onto her arm, causing her to turn back to him, "What?" She asked softly.

He gave her wrist a squeeze and smile, "I promise it will be a good Christmas. He'll believe again."

She smiled sadly and leaned over to give him a quick kiss, "I love you for wanting to make that happen for me but even you can't fix everything babe. It's like one of those Christmas presents Santa can't grant."

He sighed again and watched her pull away and walk out of the room to go find Charlie and start the day. Taking a deep breath, he pulled himself off the bed, stretched and went through the checklist of all the things he had to do. He was spending the day with Charlie and Jess would be there soon. But, he also had other plans to at least do his best to make his promise to Lorelai come true.

It was going to be a very busy day, but he hoped in the end it would be worth it.

* * *

An hour later, Lorelai was bundling up by the front door and Charlie watched her anxiously. She zipped up her coat and tied her scarf before turning back to her son.

"You'll be back before dinner?" Charlie asked with a small pout.

"I promise. Nothing can stop me." She said kneeling down in front of him, pulling at his shirt, "Grandma and I will be here. Daddy will make a great big dinner that you and I will devour in minutes and he'll complain about how long it took him to make it and how fast we ate it."

Charlie started to smile softly, "Will there be pie?"

Lorelai smirked and leaned in to kiss her son's nose, "There's always pie baby."

Charlie leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his Mom, "I love you Mommy."

Lorelai wrapped her arms around him tightly and felt Luke's gaze on her from the hallway. "I love you more handsome boy."

Charlie pulled away and ran back to his Dad, hugging onto his legs. Luke smiled and put a hand on top of his curly hair before turning to look at his wife. She stood up slowly and walked over to him, "Drive safe." Luke said.

"I will." She said rearranging her hair around her many layers, "Call if he needs me?"

Luke smiled, "He's going to be fine. We've got a busy day and Jess will be here soon to help anyway. We'll be busy. Rory said she's spending the morning with Lane and the boys and then she'll be here too."

Lorelai smirked, "Trying to avoid Jess again I see."

Luke chuckled, "They are more and more like us everyday. When are they gonna finally just admit they love each other?"

"I know. Pretty soon they'll have us beat on most stubborn couple of the year." Lorelai said with a laugh and an eye roll.

"We may still win that one." He said leaning forward to kiss her gently, "See you later?"

"See you later." She confirmed with another kiss before leaning down to kiss Charlie's head, "Be good boys."

"Why? Because Santa is watching?" Charlie piped up from behind his Dad.

Lorelai smiled with a little twinkle in her eyes, "Santa is always watching Charlie. You'll see." She winked once and then turned and walked out the front door.

Luke heard his son sigh when the door closed behind his Mother. He pulled away and then knelt down in front of the little boy, "She'll be back buddy. And she'll have Grandma with her and we both know Grandma will bring you lots and lots of presents."

Charlie looked at his Dad for a moment before asking, "You really believe in Santa Claus?"

"I do." Luke said with a smile, "I absolutely do. Your Mom has proved to me time and time again that he's real."

"She has?" Charlie asked curiously, "Why, does she know him or something?"

Luke chuckled softly, "No. Not exactly. She's just one of those people that is full of the Christmas magic that Santa is all about. She makes everyday magical, but especially Christmas. Don't you think?"

Charlie nodded, "Yeah...I guess so."

Luke smiled and leaned forward to kiss his son's head, "Come on. We've got a lot to do today and Jess will be here soon to hang out with us, okay?"

"Okay." Charlie said as he followed his Dad towards the stairs, "Can you help me wrap Mommy's present? Rory and I ran out of time yesterday."

"Sure bud. Let's go do that now." Luke said as he followed him up the staircase towards his son's bedroom.

* * *

An hour later, Lorelai got to her Mother's house and Nantucket, shivering as she entered the house with her key.

"Hello?" She called, "Is anyone home?"

"Lorelai!" Emily said walking over to her, "I sent Berta and her family home for the next few days. They deserved it."

Lorelai smiled, it still amazed her how close she had become to her housekeeper Berta. In a way she knew it helped Emily fill the void that her Father had left after he passed away. Plus having her so far away now, it helped to know there were people looking after her aging Mother. As she watched Emily walk towards her, it dawned on her that time was passing to quickly. Despite their differences, she wasn't ready for the day when Emily Gilmore was no longer there to keep her on her toes.

"Hey Mom." Lorelai said as she put her arms out to hug her, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." Emily said hugging her back, "I'm excited to be coming to you guys this year. How's my favorite grandson?"

Lorelai smiled, "He's excited to see you. Although he's a little unsure about the whole Christmas thing this year."

Emily frowned, "Why? He loves Christmas! He's so much like you in that way."

"He came into the Diner yesterday with Rory while Taylor and Luke were arguing. He sort of overheard Taylor say that Santa Claus wasn't real and now he's so upset." She said sadly.

Emily sighed, "Oh no. He's still so little though…"

"I know." Lorelai said with a nod, "It's breaking my heart. He looks so sad and he's asking us all these questions. I'm trying to get him to believe but I don't know if I'm making it worse or not. And what if someday he resents me for lying to him anyway?"

"It is always a difficult concept." Emily said thoughtfully, "With you even after you kind of figured it out, you still pretended to believe. You wanted it to be real."

"I still do." Lorelai said with a shrug, "I don't know why. Maybe it's silly of me but there's just something so pure and wonderful about the whole idea, don't you think? It's this magical time when anything is possible. I want my little boy to feel that too. Even more so thinking about how damn lucky I am to have in him the first place. He's my miracle kid Mom."

"I know." Emily said giving her arms a squeeze, "He most definitely is a miracle."

"Remember when I told you I was pregnant?" She asked with a smile, "Much different than the first time…" She teased.

Emily's eyes welled up with tears at the memory, "I thought you were making another joke. It seemed like something you would do."

Lorelai laughed sadly, "Nope. Not about that. We waited a long time to tell you...just to make sure I was going to be okay. That the baby would survive…"

"And he did." Emily said reaching for her daughter's hand, "He survived and surprised us all. He's a wonderful little boy Lorelai, and you are an incredible Mother. It's been so good to see you with him from the start." She paused and a lump formed in her throat as she spoke again, "I only wish your Father could be here to see it too."

Lorelai grimaced slightly before whispering, "I miss him."

"Me too." Emily said sadly pulling her hand back slightly, "More and more each day."

"Charlie asked if Santa could bring him and Paul Anka back. Luke's parents too." She sighed, "I hate thinking that someday the world will all come crashing down on him again. I wish he could stay this young forever."

"I know." Emily whispered, "The world is a scary place and as a parent it's hard to let go sometimes. When things between us started to get bad...I wished I could make someone tell me what to do. What to say to make things better. But life doesn't work like that."

"No. I guess it doesn't." Lorelai said softly, she looked around the beautiful house, "Are you okay out here all by yourself? I mean I know you have Berta but…"

Emily smiled, "After all those years when we lived so close and you hated it, are you trying to tell me you miss it now?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes, "I didn't hate it Mom...I just-"

"I know." Emily said squeezing her hands, "But I'm happy here Lorelai. And I still see you and the family. I'm okay. Old…" She said with a laugh, "But okay."

Lorelai smiled softly at her Mother, "Mom, no matter how old you get you'll always be the most immaculately dressed person I know. Never a hair out of place. It's the Emily Gilmore way."

"Never let them see you sweat. A trait you inherited from me." Emily said with a twinkle in her eye, "Come on. Help me finish packing and we can head home. It seems we have a mission to save Christmas for our boy."

Lorelai smiled and watched her Mom turn to walk back towards the stairs and felt thankful that over the years her relationship with her Mother had gotten much better. They still had their ups and downs but in times like these, she was glad to call Emily Gilmore her Mother.

* * *

Back in Stars Hollow, Luke was in the kitchen prepping dinner for the family. Charlie was sitting at the table using his kid friendly knife to help Luke chop apples for pies. There was Christmas music playing in the background, Luke's attempt to bring in the Lorelai Christmas magic he so craved. But Charlie was quiet as he worked, and the look on his face told his Father that he was in deep thought.

Just as he was about to break the awkward silence, the back door opened, "Honey I'm home!" A deep voice called.

Charlie turned from his spot at the table and a smile grew on his face, "Jess!"

Jess smiled and knelt down on the ground as Charlie launched himself into his arms, "Hey little man. You grow again? What did I tell you about that?"

Charlie rolled his eyes, "You said I was only allowed to grow when you were around so you didn't miss anything."

Jess nodded, "That's right. And clearly you haven't been listening to me because you're at least-" He held up his index and thumb finger about two inches apart, "this much taller than the last time I saw you."

Charlie sighed, "I told Mom I can't stop either. She says if Dad would let me eat nothing but junk it would stunt my growth. But instead he force feeds me carrots, spinach and milk so I keep getting bigger!"

Luke rolled his eyes; "Oh your Mom and you just like having excuses to blame me for things. So not my fault. I'm just keeping you healthy as you grow."

"I say we try the junk food thing and see if it works. We'll do a study on him." Jess said standing up and facing his Uncle, "We could become rich."

Luke laughed and shook his head, "Nice. Get rich off of making my poor kid sick as a dog."

Jess smiled, "Merry Christmas Uncle Luke."

"Merry Christmas Jess." Luke said pulling him into a hug, "We're glad you're here. Sorry your Mom and TJ won't make it."

"It's okay." Jess said walking over to the table to steal one of Charlie's cut up apples, "I was with them for Thanksgiving and I'm gonna hang with Doula when they back on the 29th."

"They were visiting Uncle TJ's brother right?" Charlie asked as he climbed up into his chair again.

"Yup." Luke said, "They're in Florida."

"Why would anyone want to go someplace warm for Christmas?" Charlie asked as he started cutting again, "White Christmases are the best."

"You and your Mother think so yes." Jess said, "But some people prefer not to freeze to death. Only Polar Bears and Santa Claus are meant for this kind of cold."

Luke grimaced slightly and Charlie huffed, "There's no such thing as Santa Claus."

Jess had been about to take a bite of another apple but stopped just before it reached his lips, "No such thing as Santa Claus? Says who?"

He heard his Uncle sigh as he wiped his hands off on a towel and Charlie shrugged, "Taylor."

Jess grunted and stood up to walk towards his Uncle, "Old Grinchy Taylor strikes again huh?"

Luke nodded once, "Hey Charlie, why don't you go get Mommy's present upstairs and put it under the tree?"

Charlie put his knife down and climbed down from his chair again, "Okay."

When the young boy was out of the room, Jess turned to his Uncle, "That old fart told Charlie there's no such thing as Santa Claus? Please tell me you finally decked him."

Luke rolled his eyes, "Trust me I would have if I didn't think it would kill him I would. Besides I know he didn't mean to do it. It just happened...Charlie walked in at the wrong time."

"So that's it?" Jess asked curiously, "You're just gonna let him think there's no such thing as Santa Claus? I can't imagine Lorelai is okay with that. She's like his number one elf."

Luke chuckled, "No she's devastated. And we've been telling him that Santa is real but so far he's not really buying it."

"Man…" Jess said with a sad sigh, "I mean I know I was a pretty disillusioned kid but I didn't think Charlie would ever be. Actually makes me kind of sad…" He paused and frowned, "Oh God...what's happening to me? Charlie and Doula have turned me into a freaking sap."

"Kids do that to you." Luke said with a smile, "Maybe this is your mind's way of telling you its time to have your own."

Jess snorted, "Oh yeah? With who? My imaginary girlfriend?"

Luke shrugged, "Or someone whose name rhymes with Dory."

Jess glared at his Uncle, "Oh don't start this again. I'm not going there. Rory and I are just friends."

Luke smirked and crossed his arms over his chest, "Uh huh. Just like Lorelai and I were just friends and you called me out on it time and time again."

"Totally different situations." Jess said backing away from his Uncle, "You don't know what you're talking about."

"No. Maybe I don't." Luke said with a shrug, "Or maybe I do and I don't want to see you waste as much time as I did."

Jess swallowed the lump in his throat and sighed, "Luke it's just-"

"When will Mommy be back?" Charlie asked as he came back into the kitchen.

Luke smiled and turned to his son, "Soon bud. Real soon." He looked over at the stove to check the time, "But how do you feel about finishing up these pies with Jess? I have a quick errand to run and then I'll be back. Rory should be here soon too."

"Is she trying to avoid Jess again?" Charlie said with a knowing smile.

"Geez…" Jess said with a sigh as he walked to the fridge.

"Yup." Luke said ruffling his son's hair, "You gonna be okay here for a bit?"

"Sure." Charlie said climbing back up on his chair to cut more apples, "I'll make them talk to each other while you're gone instead of doing that awkward silent thing."

"Thanks bud." Luke said ruffling his son's hair, he looked at his nephew and beckoned for him to follow him out to the foyer.

Jess sighed as he followed his Uncle, "Do you enjoy getting your son to gang up on me?"

"He's half Lorelai after all. Did you really expect anything less?" He asked with a laugh as he shrugged on his coat.

"I'd like to go back to the days when Lorelai wasn't so Team Jess. It was easier when she hated me." He said with a grumble as he leaned against the wall.

Luke smiled, "For you maybe. But not for me." He grabbed his keys, "When you asked if I was going to let this Santa Claus thing slide...my answer is no. I've got a plan but it might keep me busy for a bit. You think you can man up and be around Rory for a bit?"

Jess narrowed his eyes, "What kind of plan?"

"A plan to get my kid's Christmas spirit back." He said with a shrug, "So that both he and my wife aren't miserable little elves tomorrow."

Jess smiled, "Luke Danes family man. Who knew?"

Luke rolled his eyes and grabbed the doorknob, "Cool it or I'll start teasing you about Rory again. How many copies of her book do you have now?"

"You can go now." Jess said quickly, "And don't hurry back."

"Okay fine but if you feel the sudden urge to grab Rory and kiss her, please don't do it in front of the kid." Luke said quickly before darting out of the house.

Jess groaned and turned back to the kitchen, "I hate families…"

* * *

In town, Luke was at Doose's pick up some last minute items he thought would be useful to execute his plan. He was ticking off things in his head as he meandered the aisles and was so focused it took him a moment to notice the hesitant, old man beside him.

"Jesus Taylor." Luke said putting a hand over his heart, "Way to give me a heart attack on Christmas Eve."

"Just another way for me to ruin the Holiday for your son." He said sadly.

Luke sighed, "Taylor…"

"Is he alright? I thought about dropping by or calling last night but I was afraid Lorelai might throw an anvil at my head." He said.

Luke chuckled, "We try not to keep anvil's around the house for that reason anymore."

Taylor sighed, "Luke I never meant to upset Charlie. You know how I-"

When Taylor didn't finish his sentence, Luke didn't need him too. He understood. As much as it surprised him, his son and Taylor had formed an unlikely bond over the last five years. The usually grumpy Taylor seemed enthralled by the young boy and Luke knew that he would never intentionally hurt him.

"I know you didn't." Luke said softly, "And Lorelai knows that too. It happened...and we're dealing with it."

"Is there anything I can do?" Taylor asked quietly, "I really do feel terrible."

"If my plan doesn't pan out the way I'm hoping it will, I'll let you know." Luke said, "But I'm hoping I can still salvage Christmas for Charlie and Lorelai."

"What do you have planned?" Taylor asked curiously. Luke was quiet for a moment, "You have any of that canned fake snow left in back that you wanted me to put on my windows?"

Taylor nodded, "I think I have a few cans. Why?"

"Give me all the one's you have and I'll fill you in." He said clapping the old man on the back as he walked towards the storeroom.

* * *

Back at the house, Rory walked in the front door expecting to find Luke and Charlie wrapping presents or watching a Christmas movie. Instead she found Jess and Charlie playing a game of Candy Land by the fire.

"Hey Rory." Charlie said as he moved his player, "Look who is here!"

Rory nervously took off her coat and smiled, "I see. Hi Jess. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Rory." He said awkwardly from his place beside Charlie.

"Luke's not here?" Rory asked as she walked into the room and sat down on the couch.

"He had a last minute errand to run but he should be back soon." Jess said watching her very carefully.

She blushed under his intense gaze, "Oh. Okay." She took a deep breath and walked towards the kitchen, "Anyone want some hot cocoa? It's really cold out there. I need something to warm you up."

Not missing a beat, Charlie picked up another card and shrugged, "Why don't you just have Jess warm you up?"

Jess snorted a laugh and Rory stood up quickly and walked towards the kitchen as she muttered, "So your Mother's son."

Jess shot Charlie a quick glare with a small smile and then jumped up to follow Rory into the kitchen. He saw her beginning to heat up water on the stove so he went and got three mugs from the cupboard.

"He does scare me sometimes with the things he says." Jess said with a smile, "So much like your Mom it's crazy."

Rory smiled softly and shrugged, "No doubt in who his parents are that's for sure."

"Nope." He said as he walked over to her and put the mugs down, "Luke told me about the whole Taylor and Santa thing."

Rory sighed, "Yeah. He's been pretty upset about it. Mom too. Has he said much to you about it?"

"Not really." Jess said softly, "But Luke says he has a plan to fix it."

"What kind of plan?" Rory asked curiously, "How do you prove that Santa is real?"

"Who knows?" Jess said with a shrug, "But when it comes to my Uncle I've stopped questioning whether or not he can accomplish things. Especially when it comes to making your Mom or Charlie happy."

She smiled softly, "He does have a way about him that man…"

"Yes he does." He said before reaching a hand out to her, "So...how have you been? Haven't seen you in awhile. You still seeing that guy...what was his name?"

"Conner?" Rory asked, Jess nodded slowly but she noticed the pain in his eyes, "Um no. It wasn't really working out. We wanted different things out of the relationship and I've been busy."

"Writing your new book." Jess said, "How's that going?"

"It's…" She laughed sadly, "It's going I guess? I'm finding it much harder than the first book."

"Well the first book was about your life. It was your story to tell." Jess said with a shrug, "Of course it would be easier."

"Well you gave me the idea for that one." She said softly, "Got any other great ideas for me?"

Jess smiled, "Not at the moment, no. But I have no doubt that you will think of something great all on your own. You always do."

She got caught in his gaze for a moment and wanted to say something profound, but the back door opened and she jumped slightly. "Oh." Luke said awkwardly, suddenly realizing what he had interrupted, "Hey Rory. You're back."

Rory smiled and reached for the teapot, "Do you want some hot chocolate? I think there's enough for all of us."

"Oh no." Luke said quickly, "I'm good." He looked around the room and saw the way that his nephew was staring at Rory, "Where's Charlie?"

"Living room." Jess said suddenly snapping out of his daze, "We're playing Candy Land. I should…" He pointed behind him.

"Go." Rory said quickly, "I'll bring these out in a minute."

Jess gazed at her for another minute, nodded quickly and then turned to walk out of the room. Rory turned and saw Luke staring at her with a familiar and all knowing smile. "Don't." She said shaking her head.

Luke chuckled, "I didn't say a word!"

"No. But you were thinking things." She said pointing a spoon at him, "Thinking things you should be thinking because they will never happen."

"If you say so." Luke said laughing again as he shrugged, "Your Mom call?"

"She sent a text a little while ago to say they were heading back to the Ferry. On schedule so far." Rory answered as she poured hot water into the three mugs.

"Good." Luke said as he dumped some bags on the table, "You think you can keep Charlie busy for awhile? I gotta hide some of this stuff and then finish dinner."

Rory walked back to him and peered down at the bags, "What is all this stuff?" She pulled out the fake canned snow and frowned, "You hate this stuff. And Mom hates this stuff even more. She says it's a lame interpretation of the real thing."

"I know. But I'm hoping she'll appreciate it later." He said with a shrug as he took the can and nodded towards the living room, "Go. Go. Distract."

"What are you up too Luke?" She asked narrowing her eyes at him.

Luke shivered, "You just looked so much like your Mother it actually frightened me."

Rory laughed and shook her head, "Fine. I'll let you keep your secrets for now. And I'll keep the boys occupied."

"Just do me a favor and don't occupy Jess's time with your tongue down his throat. At least not in front of your brother." He teased.

"Unbelievable." She said with a sigh, "First the kid then you! You both spend way too much time with Mom."

"Comes with the territory of being her husband and her kid." He said with a laugh.

Rory stuck her tongue out at him and took the three mugs before walking back to the living room. Luke only smiled and got back to work hoping to be able to get something's done before his wife got home. He wanted to surprise her too…

* * *

That evening, Lorelai and Emily came in quickly trying to ward off the cold. "God it's cold out there." Emily said shivering slightly.

"I know. But still no snow." Lorelai said with a frown, "First time in a long time it won't be a White Christmas here." She sighed, "Guess the magic really is gone."

"Mommy!" A voice yelled as it ran into the foyer, "Grandma!"

Emily turned and smiled at her Grandson, "There's my favorite boy!" She hugged him tight and smiled, "Are you all ready for Santa Claus to come leave you presents tonight?"

"He won't." Charlie said shaking his head, "Because he isn't real. Taylor says so."

Luke appeared in the doorway and sighed, "Why don't you let them come all the way in buddy. I'm sure they're cold."

"Come on Grandma." Charlie said pulling her by the hand towards the living room.

Luke took the bags from his wife and set them down before helping her take her coat off, "No improvements here?" She asked him.

"So far, no." He said honestly, "He grilled poor Jess and Rory on time zones for almost an hour before you got here."

Lorelai sighed, "Great. How are those two holding up?" She asked peeking behind him as she saw Jess and Rory watching Emily and Charlie interact, but keeping a good distance between them.

"Oh the usual." He said with a shrug as he followed her gaze, "Lots of awkward glances, blushing when their eyes meet, occasional nervous laughter."

Lorelai laughed and shook her head, "Lorelai and Luke 2.0."

"Yup." He said rubbing her arms gently, "How are you doing?"

She smiled at his concern and reached out to touch his stubbly face, which was more gray than brown these days, "I'm okay. Still a little sad but hopefully in the morning when Charlie sees his presents the spark will come back."

"I hope so too." Luke said honestly before leaning into kiss his wife, "And your Mom?"

"She's okay. Seems to be getting along just fine with Berta still. Doesn't want to come back to Hartford anytime soon. That's for sure." She said with a shrug.

"When it's time we'll know." He said helping her hang up her coat.

"I'm not ready for that." She said sadly.

"I know. So let's not think about it tonight. Okay?" He asked turning back to her.

She smiled and leaned over to kiss him again, "Okay."

They walked hand in hand back to towards the living room and saw that Charlie was sitting curled up beside his Grandma while she showed him a picture. "So that's Grandpa?" He asked her.

"Yup. That's your Grandpa Gilmore the year he met the real Santa Claus." Emily said smiling as she pointed to the old photograph.

Lorelai looked at her husband who just smiled at Emily's attempt to cheer their son up, he knew how much she loved her Grandson. "So he actually knew Santa?"

"He did." She answered, "He used to call him on the phone when your Mother was misbehaving. Isn't that right Lorelai?"

Lorelai laughed at the memory, years later when she found out it was his old friend Mr. Willis who actually did look like Santa, she was grateful for her Father's attempt at keeping her childhood alive, "That's right. And as you can imagine he ended up having to call him quite a bit."

Everyone laughed and Charlie looked back at his Grandma, "So you really believe he's real?"

"I absolutely believe he's real." Emily said giving him a squeeze, "How else would you get all those presents under the tree every Christmas?"

Charlie shrugged and looked behind him, "I figured Mom just did it."

Emily rolled her eyes playfully, "Oh please! Your Mother does not have enough patience or stamina for all that! Not even ten cups of your Dad's coffee could help her accomplish that much in a night!"

"I should be insulted but I'm grateful. What's happening?" Lorelai whispered to her husband.

He laughed and gave her arm a squeeze, "I think you're gonna have to let this one go for Charlie's sake babe."

She smiled and turned back to the scene in front of her and saw Charlie trace the part of the photo where Richard stood, "And Grandpa Gilmore really believed too?"

"With all his heart." Emily whispered holding him close, "And I know that he would want you to believe too Charlie."

Charlie took the photo and looked down at it carefully as if trying to memorize it. He took a deep breath and whispered, "I want to believe...but I don't know if I can anymore."

A small silence fell over the room as the sadness in his voice pierced all of their hearts. Lorelai took a deep breath and walked around the couch to sit beside her son. She pulled him into her lap and Charlie rested against her shoulder, a slow tear escaped the corner of his eyes and she held him tight. "It's okay buddy. Everything is going to be okay. I promise."

Rory, Jess and Emily all looked from the two sad figures on the couch to Luke. They were all thinking the same thing. If Lorelai and Charlie didn't believe in Christmas miracles anymore...how could the rest of them?

Luke shoved his hands in his pockets and started preparing mentally for the task at hand. It was now or ever and nothing had felt as important. Operation save Christmas was about to go into full effect…

* * *

 **Hope you are still interested. I am having soooo much fun writing this one. There will be more soon! Thanks again :) You are the best readers ever!**


	3. Part 3

**Woke up sick as a dog this morning and stayed home. Decided to use the time to get this chapter done for all you lovely readers. I hope you enjoy! Short epilogue coming after this ;)**

* * *

That night after dinner had been served and a few presents had been passed out. Charlie climbed into his Mother's lap and asked her to take him to bed. Lorelai smiled at the rest of the family and stood up, holding the unusually quiet boy tightly in her arms.

"I'll be up in a minute." Luke said giving her arm a squeeze.

She nodded once and then walked upstairs towards her son's room. After they were out of sight, Luke turned back to Jess, Rory and Emily who all looked just as sad as he felt.

"It's not normal for Lorelai and Charlie to be sad like that." Emily said softly, "It doesn't feel right. Especially today of all days."

"I know." Rory said curling up on the couch, "He didn't even leave out cookies."

"Maybe you still should." Jess said looking at her, "He'll see them gone in the morning."

Rory nodded and stood up to go to the kitchen, "Okay. Grandma, you want to help me?"

"Sure." She stood up and smiled sadly at Luke, "Are you alright?"

Luke nodded slowly, "I will be. Do you need anything before you go to bed?"

"Oh no. I'm all set. Lorelai left extra blankets in the girl's room. I'll be fine." She walked over and squeezed Luke's hand, "I'll see you in the morning. Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas Emily." He said softly as he watched her and Rory walk towards the kitchen.

When they were gone, Jess turned to his Uncle and said, "So what's this big plan of yours?"

"I can't execute it quite yet." Luke said looking upstairs, "I need to make sure Lorelai and Charlie are both fast asleep."

"You trying to get her to believe too?" Jess asked curiously.

Luke shrugged, "Just trying to make her happy."

Jess smiled and shook his head; "You really are a sucker when it comes to her."

Luke rolled his eyes, "You want me to start teasing you about Rory again?"

Jess laughed, "No. I didn't mean it in a bad way it's just…" His voice trailed off and he shrugged, "I think it's nice that after all these years you still love her."

Luke smiled, "When you know you know Jess. And you'd do anything to make that person happy. Even pretending that you just want to be friends to let them be with someone else…"

Jess blushed, "Luke…"

The older man stepped back and just smiled as he said, "I'm not going to say anything else. I'm just saying...everyone deserves to be happy. Maybe Christmas has a little magic left in it for you too."

Jess watched his Uncle turn and walk up the stairs to check on his wife and son. Jess turned and looked towards the kitchen. He heard the familiar laugh that always pulled at his heart even if he tried to deny it. Taking a deep breath, he wondered if it was finally time to stop being so afraid...was there any Christmas magic left for him after all?

* * *

Upstairs, Luke walked into his son's room and saw Lorelai curled up beside him on the bed. Charlie had "Twas the Night Before Christmas" in his lap but he was just flipping through the pictures not letting his Mother read it. Lorelai was running her hands through the young boy's curls watching him sadly.

Luke walked further into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed, "Rory is going to leave some cookies out for Santa. I'll leave some carrots for the reindeer too."

Charlie stopped what he was doing and looked over at his Dad, "Why?"

He saw Lorelai flinch out of the corner of his eyes and Luke sighed before reaching out to touch his son's leg, "Because Santa is coming here tonight whether you believe that or not."

Charlie sat up slowly and closed the book. He stared down at the cover and asked in a soft, scared voice, "Are you mad at me Daddy?"

Luke frowned and scooted closer to him, "Charlie why on Earth would I be mad at you?"

Charlie shrugged, "Because I made Momma sad when I said I don't believe."

"Oh honey." Lorelai whispered beside him as she sat up too, putting a hand on his little back, "Daddy and I aren't mad. We just hate to see you so upset."

"So you aren't mad?" Charlie asked turning back to his Father.

"Not at all." Luke said shaking his head, "You didn't do anything wrong Charlie. No one is mad at you. We just want you to be happy and have a good Christmas."

Charlie was quiet again, clearly trying to think of something to say, "Santa will come?"

Lorelai leaned forward and kissed his head, "Santa will come baby."

A knock on the door caught their attention and Rory poked her head in, "Hey little man. Cookies are all set up downstairs."

Charlie nodded, "Are you gonna sleep in here with me?"

Rory smiled, "I am." She lighted her iPad and smiled, "Do you want to watch the Grinch with me before we go to bed?"

Charlie looked at his Mom, "Can I?"

"Sure." She said smiling, kissing his rosy cheek, "Don't stay up too late though."

Luke helped Lorelai climb out of the bed and then turned to his son, "Night buddy. Love you."

"Love you too Daddy." Charlie said as he settled back on the bed and Rory climbed in beside him, pulling the blankets up around them.

He took his wife's hand and led her back towards the hallway. Closing the door behind them, he turned to her and smiled, "You okay?"

She shrugged and leaned in, wrapping her arms around his waist as she rested her head against his shoulder, "I just love that little boy so much."

He squeezed her tight, "I know. That's what makes you a good Mom."

She pulled back and sighed, "He'll probably fall asleep soon. He was up pretty late last night."

"Why don't I draw you a bath while we wait for him to nod off for sure?" He asked leaning up to pull at one of her curls.

She smiled up at him, "Will you be joining me in this bath?"

Luke chuckled, "If it will make you happy again then yes."

She giggled and nipped at his neck playfully, "Wet, naked Luke...how could that not make me happy?"

"I prefer wet naked Lorelai but to each their own." He teased, tickling her stomach.

She smiled and leaned up on her toes, pressing her lips to his softly, "Thank you for being such a good husband."

Luke smiled and pressed a kiss to the top of her head, "You make it easy Mrs. Danes." He leaned back and patted her playfully on the behind, "Go on. I'll start the water. Meet you there in a minute."

"Love you." She said giving him another kiss.

"Right back at ya." He said with a wink as she walked towards their room.

* * *

Later that night, after they finished their bath, Lorelai lay curled up on the bed half asleep as Luke lay beside her, rubbing her back affectionately. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was coming in slow and even but he knew she was still awake. Her hand was clutching his arm gently and occasionally she smiled while he rubbed her back.

"I need to put the presents out." She said with a yawn, breathing him in as she snuggled closer to his side.

"I can do it. Get some sleep. You were up all last night with him." He said pressing a kiss to her damp curls.

She yawned again, "But-"

"I've got it all under control." He whispered into her hair, "I'll be back before you know it. Go to sleep."

"He's going to believe…" She whispered more to herself than to him.

Luke smiled down at her and said, "He's going to believe Lorelai. You'll see."

She smiled slowly before letting herself drift off into dreamland. Luke waited a moment to make sure he wouldn't disturb her, then crawled out of bed and tiptoed out the door. He walked down the hall and peeked into his son's room again. He saw that Rory and Charlie had fallen asleep with the lights still on, her iPad lay against her chest, the moving long since over. Reaching out, he took the device, and put it on the dresser to the left.

Turning off the lamp, he kissed Rory's head, then Charlie's and flipped on the tiny Christmas Tree in the corner of Charlie's room. He gave them one last look and then turned to exit the room. When he got downstairs, he found his nephew reading on the couch by the Christmas tree light, all set up for bed.

Jess looked up, "Everyone asleep?"

"Yeah." Luke said reaching down to pick up one of the cookies, he bit it and chewed slowly.

"Only people you would ever eat cookies for are Charlie and Lorelai." Jess said with a smile.

Luke chuckled, "Why don't you help me. Rory seems to have put a few too many on this plate."

"I think she did that to torture you." He said with a laugh as he reached out to grab his own cookie.

"Is Emily asleep too?" Luke asked looking down the hallway.

"Yeah. She seemed tired. How's she doing?" Jess asked curiously.

"She's getting by. She's getting older of course. There's no stopping that but for now she's okay." Luke said with a shrug as he lifted himself up off the couch and walked towards the closet in the foyer, "The Holidays are always hard for her. She misses Richard the most then."

"Understandable." Jess said as he watched his Uncle begin to take presents out from their hiding place, "You need help?"

"There's a bike out in the garage." Luke said, "It's already all put together, but I wanted to leave it under the tree. Think you can grab it while I put these out?"

"Sure." Jess said as he got up and went to find his boots, "All part of your plan?"

Luke smiled, "You'll see."

Jess smiled, slipped on his boots and walked towards the front door to walk outside. He shivered as he went and trudged towards the garage. Inside he found the bike and quickly grabbed it before exiting the small garage.

He nearly jumped when he saw Taylor standing outside the doors, "Jesus Taylor."

"Sorry." The older man said, "I wanted to check on-"

"Charlie's asleep." Jess said hiking the bike up over his shoulder, "Luke's trying to get everything set up for tomorrow morning. Why don't you go? I think you've done enough for one Christmas."

Taylor sighed, "I'm sure you don't believe me but I truly didn't mean to upset him."

"But you did." Jess said with a shrug, "I just hope Luke can fix things." He paused, "Go home Taylor. It's cold. You'll get sick."

Taylor looked sad, "Jess…

"It will be fine Taylor. You'll see." He said with a sad smile, "Go on."

Taylor sighed and turned to leave again. Jess watched him go then walked back towards the house with the bike on his shoulders. When he got back inside, he saw Luke kneeling in front of the tree arranging presents, "What took you so long?" Luke asked.

"Taylor dropped by." Jess said setting the bike down.

Luke sighed and stood up, "Where is he?"

"I sent him home. I told him not to worry about it." Jess said as he watched his Uncle arrange the bike, "No sense in stressing the old man out. Can't be good for a man at his age. What's he like 108 now?"

Luke laughed, "Seems like it. But yeah he's getting up there…" His back cracked as he stood up again, "As we all are."

Jess watched him carefully. His Uncle always seemed so strong to him. So healthy like he would never die. Yet it was just beginning to occur to him that life was passing them all by and even Luke wasn't immune to getting older.

"What else can I do to help?" Jess asked softly.

"Nothing." Luke said with a shake of his head, "The rest of my plan will have to be done early in the morning. I'll probably go to bed for awhile."

"I want to help." Jess said honestly, "You know that I…" He cleared his throat, "You know Charlie is my little buddy."

Luke smiled, "He is your Godson."

Jess smiled, he had been shocked when Lorelai and Luke asked but honored nonetheless. And if he was being honest, he'd do just about anything for that little boy. "That he is. So what can I do to help?"

"Tell you what." Luke said wiping his hand son his legs, "I have to get up around 5 to get things going. But I don't want Lorelai to wake up from my alarm. Can you set one and wake me up?"

"Sure." Jess said as he walked back to the couch, "Anything else?"

"I'll fill you in then." Luke said smiling as he walked back towards the stairs, "Try and get some sleep, okay?"

"Sure. Goodnight Uncle Luke." Jess said as he watched him climb the stairs.

Watching him go, only made Jess wonder if too much time had passed or if it was time to finally act on his feelings before he woke up old and alone.

* * *

When the alarm sounded, Jess groaned and reached for his phone on the coffee table. He turned off the alarm and looked around to see that it was still dark out. Jess pulled himself up off the makeshift bed, cleaned up the mess on the couch and then walked upstairs. He stood outside Charlie's bedroom door for a minute willing himself to look in. But something about it seemed wrong.

Instead, he took a deep breath and turned towards his Uncle and Aunt's bedroom. Pushing the door open slowly, he found them both fast asleep. Jess wondered if he would ever have what they had. Leaning over his Uncle, he shook his shoulder slowly. "Luke."

Luke groaned softly, "Go away."

"Shh…" Jess whispered, "You told me to wake you up. Don't wake up Lorelai."

Luke cracked open one eye and checked the clock beside him. He finally pulled himself together, looked at his sleeping wife and pulled himself from her embrace. Jess walked towards the door to give him a moment but saw the way Luke leaned down and kissed her forehead. She mumbled something in her sleep, which made Luke smile before he turned and grabbed a sweatshirt to pull it over his head.

When they were out in the hallway, Jess turned to his Uncle, "So what's the plan?"

"You better put something warmer on. We've got work to do." Luke said with a smile as he walked past him towards the stairs.

Curiously, Jess followed him and wondered what was to come next.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, the rest of the cookies and carrots had been eaten. More presents had been laid out and the fire was roaring in the fireplace. Luke was leaning down in front of it with cans of fake snow and some sort of white concoction he had made.

"And where exactly did you read about this?" Jess asked him.

"Hand me that boot." Luke said not looking over at him, "I googled it."

"You googled something?" Jess asked in surprise, "I thought you were afraid of google."

"Well I called April and had her email me this to me." He said pouring the fake snow and other white substance in a bucket before stirring it around and taking the boot to put it inside, "Says it will hold up for awhile. Look like Santa's footprints." He started stomping them on the ground, and then turned back to his nephew, "Take that grain and stuff and make a path of it outside.

"What exactly is it?" Jess asked softly holding up the bag.

Luke smiled, "Reindeer food. Sprinkle it around so it looks like they were eating it out there. What time is it?" He asked.

"5:45." Jess said as he walked towards the door, "They'll be up soon...you know Charlie can't sleep late on Christmas."

"I know. We need to hurry." Luke said standing up as he reached for another bag and ripped up a piece of red fabric that looked much like Santa's suit, he attached it to the fireplace door as if Santa had had it ripped off while he was coming down the chimney. "Go on. I'll meet you outside in a minute."

Jess turned and walked out the front door while Luke stayed inside and set up a few more items. He slipped a hand written note out of his pocket, put it beside the empty plate of cookies and then walked towards the front door. He walked out and reached for the ladder on the ground. He saw his nephew spreading out the reindeer food and smiled.

"Hold this ladder for me, would you?" He asked leaning it against the side of the house.

"What are you doing now?" Jess asked as he walked over to him.

"Shh…" Luke whispered as he pulled out a bag from beside the house, "Gonna make it sound like Santa is up on the roof."

"Oh you're good." Jess said with a laugh as he held the ladder, "But are you sure this is safe?"

"I got it." He started to climb with the bag on his back, "If anyone comes outside, just drop the ladder and run okay?"

"And leave you up there?" He asked incredulously.

Luke looked down as he climbed, "Hoping it will be worth it. Even if I break my neck." He said with a laugh.

Jess groaned and watched his Uncle climb up to the top of the roof. Once up there, he saw him set up a few items beside the chimney before reaching into the bag. There were bells and large boots. When he started stomping around, Jess smiled, that is until the front door open and Rory stepped out.

"What the hell is going on?" Rory asked walking out on the porch.

Jess heard Luke stumbled before turning back to Rory, "Shhh!" Jess whispered.

Rory pulled at her coat tighter and sighed, "What are you guys doing? It's barely 6 in the morning." She walked over to them and looked up at the roof, "Luke get down! You'll break your neck!"

"Would you be quiet?" Luke said peering down at her, "Where's your Brother?"

"Still asleep for now." Rory said, 'But probably not for much longer with all the noise you're making."

"He's trying to make it sound like Santa is here." Jess muttered to her, "Go upstairs and stay with Charlie so he doesn't come out."

"I-" She was about to say something when the door opened again, and Lorelai stepped out.

"What's all the noise?" She asked.

Luke dropped to the top of the roof and tried to hide from his wife, Jess caught his eye. Rory was about to respond to her Mother but Jess grabbed her by the waist and pulled her flush against him, crashing his lips to hers.

"Whoa." Lorelai said stumbling back when she finally saw them wrapped in a tight embrace.

Rory pushed back and slugged Jess, "What the hell was that?"

Jess stumbled, "I uh…" He cleared his throat nervously, "I was just…"

Lorelai narrowed her eyes at them, "This is the moment you decided to finally give in to your desires? Out in the freezing cold on Christmas morning?"

Rory glared at Jess and turned back to her Mom, "He said he wanted to talk."

Lorelai laughed, "Doesn't sound like he had much to say...his lips seemed otherwise preoccupied."

Rory turned and walked back into the house to distract her Mother and hopefully her brother, "Would you just get inside."

Lorelai laughed as her daughter walked past her, "Smooth Jess. Real smooth."

Jess groaned when he saw her walk back into the house. When he heard the door close, Luke looked down over the edge of the roof, "What was that?"

Jess shrugged, "I panicked! You didn't want Lorelai to see you either right?"

Luke chuckled, "No. But I didn't say grab Rory and kiss the crap out of her."

"It was the only way I could think to keep her quiet." Jess said quickly before reaching up to touch his still tingling lips.

Luke smiled, "You still want to help or do you need a minute to recover?"

"Would you just finish whatever it is you're trying to do?" Jess growled up at him.

Luke laughed again and stood up to get back to work. Jess sighed and went back to holding the ladder, wondering what the hell would happen when he went back inside. But the only thing he could think about was the fact that it felt damn good to finally kiss Rory after all these years. And he hoped that it wouldn't be years before he could do it again.

* * *

Inside, Lorelai followed her daughter upstairs towards Charlie's room. Out in the hall, Lorelai grabbed her arm and turned her around, "How long has that been going on?"

"It hasn't." Rory said shaking her head, "I don't know what that was."

"Well how do you feel about it now?" Lorelai asked, "I mean do you want to do it again? Are you-"

"Mom." Rory said quickly, "I don't know. Okay? I just...I don't know. Jess has always just been...there. And we've-"

"You've been avoiding your feelings for each other for years. Much like Luke and I did." She frowned and squeezed her daughter's arm; "I hope you aren't staying away from him for my sake. I want you to be happy honey. And if Jess makes you happy then I think you should go for it."

Rory opened her mouth to say something when a sound of bells jingled above head, "What was that?" Lorelai asked.

Rory smiled as she heard the pitter patter of feet on the other side of the door, "Shh, come with me." She grabbed her Mother's arm and pulled her towards her brother's bedroom.

Charlie was standing by the window peering out in the dimly lit morning sky, "Do you hear that?"

The bells sounded again and a stomping of feet followed, "I hear it." Rory said.

"Ho! Ho! Ho!" A loud deep voice called into the house and then more loud bells jingled.

Charlie turned quickly and stared at his Mother, "Mommy! It's Santa!"

Lorelai was staring up at the ceiling, trying to comprehend what she was hearing, "What?"

"Santa!" Charlie yelled running over to her, he grabbed her hands, "Santa was here!"

The bells quieted down and Charlie was jumping up and down, Lorelai looked over at her daughter, "What's going on?"

Rory shrugged, "The magic of Christmas Mom…"

Charlie grabbed his slippers and put them on while Lorelai tried to comprehend the noises from above her. She turned and followed her son down the stairs and looked at the scene in front of her. Charlie went to the fireplace and touched the fake footprints, "Mommy look!"

"But it's not even snowing…" Lorelai said with a frown.

"But Santa would be covered in snow from traveling all night!" Charlie yelled looking back at her, he turned to look at the fireplace, "And look!" He pulled the red fabric from the side of the fireplace, "He ripped his suit!"

"What's going on?" Emily asked as she padded into the living room.

"Grandma! Santa was here! Santa was here! We just missed him!" The excited boy yelled jumping up and down again.

Emily turned to look at her daughter who looked just as surprised. After a minute, Jess and Luke entered from the kitchen, neither of them wearing any of their outdoor gear anymore. Luke looked calm as he held out a coffee mug to his wife, "Everyone's up?"

She slowly took the mug and nodded, "We're up…"

"Daddy Santa came!" Charlie said with a huge grin on his face, "And he brought me a bike!" He said finally registering the gifts under the tree, "The exact bike I wanted!"

"I told you he would come buddy." Luke said as he wrapped an arm around his wife's shoulders.

Jess sat down on the couch and smiled at his cousin, "What else did you get Charlie?"

Charlie was practically bouncing up and down on his feet, "Mommy can I open my presents?"

Lorelai was looking around the room in confusion, "Um...yeah. Yeah go ahead buddy."

Charlie stared at her, "Mommy, are you okay?"

Lorelai swallowed hard and looked down at her son, "I'm just...I'm-" She smiled, "I'm good buddy."

Charlie smiled and walked over to her, she knelt down in front of him, "Mommy. Santa is real. He's really real."

Lorelai's eyes welled up with tears and touched the side of her son's face, "I know he is baby."

"Then why are you crying?" He asked sadly, "You never cry on Christmas."

Lorelai laughed and pulled her son into her arms, "I'm just happy to see you happy baby. That's all." She sniffled and pulled back, "Go on. Go open your presents. I'm right here."

Charlie smiled and ran towards the tree; Emily, Jess and Rory followed him and started sorting presents. Lorelai stood up and turned to her husband who was just smiling at the sight in front of him. And suddenly it all clicked. She grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the kitchen.

"Luke Danes." She said quickly, "You still have a few tricks up your sleeves don't you?"

Luke chuckled and shrugged, "I don't know what you're talking about. Santa came. That's all."

She looked behind her and saw her son sitting on top of his bike laughing as Rory helped him balance, "Does he look like Luke Danes?" She whispered.

"A little. Less handsome." He teased giving her hips a squeeze.

Lorelai turned and smiled at him, "You did this. You did all of this didn't you? The footprints, the ripped suit…" She touched his cheeks and felt that they were still cold, "The noise up on the roof."

Luke blushed and shrugged his shoulders, looking down at the ground, "What if I did? Would that be okay?"

She swallowed hard and lifted his face to hers again, "God you are an incredible man."

He sighed and wrapped his arms around her waist, "It was killing me to see you and Charlie so sad. I know I'm grumpy about things but I don't want you two to be. I need your excitement about things to pull me out of my funks. I couldn't let Christmas be ruined."

She wiped at her tears and leaned up to kiss him, "You did all of this." She whispered again.

"I just wanted to give you a reason to smile. You and Charlie." He said as she pulled away, "Is it okay?"

"Are you kidding?" She asked laughing slightly, "Babe this is the best Christmas present you could have ever given me. A reason to believe in the magic again." She turned and smiled at her son as he opened another gift and threw his head back and laughed at something Jess said, "That look on the face is all I need to know that magic is real. That Santa is real. That our family is real. This is everything in the world that I need. Right here. With you and our family."

Luke smiled and wrapped his arms around her from behind, "Merry Christmas Lorelai."

She was about to respond but he held one hand out in front of her, dangling a diamond necklace in front of her. The diamond was shaped like a snowflake and she gasped, "Luke…"

"I figured if I couldn't give you the real thing this year, I'd give you a snowflake you can keep with you always." He said softly into her ear.

She clasped the necklace in her hand and turned back towards him, "Unbelievable. We said no presents." She said poking his chest.

He smirked and shrugged, "Well I'm a compulsive liar."

She laughed and kissed him, "Good." Pecking him once more she smiled, "You and Charlie are going to Florida for Spring Training to watch the Sox. You get to meet the players too."

Luke narrowed his eyes at her, "Lorelai Gilmore-"

"Gilmore- _Danes."_ She said with an eye roll as she laughed and turned around, resting her head against his chest, "Why do you always forget that part?"

"You're too much." He said with a throaty laugh before kissing the side of her face, "But man I love you."

"I love you too." She held his hands around her and sighed happily, "Merry Christmas Santa Claus."

Luke chuckled and kissed the side of her face, feeling as though he had accomplished what he had set out to do. What made him even more excited was that there was still one surprise to be shared. But what he didn't know, was that he was going to be surprised too.

* * *

A few hours later, the Danes, Gilmore family was sitting around the living room full from Christmas pancakes hot cocoa, candy and more. They were surrounded by presents and laughter. Lorelai was sitting on the couch with Charlie in her lap reading a book that Emily had given him.

As they finished the story, Lorelai closed the book and kissed her son's cheek, "What do you think baby? Did you have a good Christmas?"

"The best." Charlie said snuggling into her, "Hey wait! I forgot to give you your present Momma."

The young boy hopped down from his Mother's lap and Luke stood up, going to grab his cell phone, which no one noticed. Lorelai sat up as Charlie came over and handed her a small box. Lorelai smiled and took it from him, "Did you wrap this?"

"Daddy helped." Charlie said snuggling into her side again.

Lorelai turned to see Luke walking back into the room, "He did huh?"

Luke just smiled and sat down on the arm of the couch, "Open it."

Lorelai smiled and pulled the ribbon off before unwrapping the paper. She took out a paw print ornament with a picture of Lorelai, Charlie and Paul Anka on the inside. "Charlie…"

"I know you miss Paul Anka as much as I do." Charlie said sadly, "I thought we could have this for our tree every year so he would be with us still."

"It's perfect buddy. The best present." She said leaning down to kiss his head softly.

He smiled up at her, "You like it?"

"I love it." She said helping him off the couch, "Let's put it on the tree together."

Charlie smiled and climbed into her arms as they walked together to the tree to find the perfect spot. When they were satisfied, they stepped back and admired their work. "Perfect." She said.

Luke smiled at the scene in front of him, knowing it was time for the next surprise, "Hey Charlie...did you see that Santa left you a note?"

Charlie turned to look back at his Dad, "He did?" He walked over to the couch and looked down at the coffee table where the empty plate was, and beside it a handwritten note, "Mommy, can you read it to me?"

Lorelai smiled at her husband and sat down beside her son, taking the letter she began to read:

 _Dear Charlie,_

 _Thank you for the delicious cookies! Did you help your Dad make them again this year? You always put the perfect amount of frosting on them. I appreciate that. The reindeer especially loved the carrots and extra reindeer food too. Sometimes people forget how hard they work. They wanted me to say thank you._

 _I know that this year was difficult for you, losing your best friend Paul Anka. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back for you. But I want you to know that he's safe and happy in heaven. He did let me know that you deserved an extra special gift this year. I want you to know that it's thanks to people like you and your Mom that the magic of Christmas stays alive each year. I would be nothing without you both._

 _Never stop believing in magic and miracles Charlie. You yourself were a miracle, proof that there is good in the world. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your last surprise. He'll be waiting for you out on the front step. I love you always._

 _Santa_

Lorelai had tears in her eyes as she finished the letter and looked up at her husband. She knew those were his words and it made her love for him grow even more. Charlie looked over at his Dad, "Who is waiting on the front steps?"

Luke smiled and shrugged his shoulders innocently, "I don't know buddy. This is a present from Santa. He didn't tell me."

Charlie looked over at his Mom who just smiled, "Well what are you waiting for?" She asked, "Let's go!"

Charlie's face erupted in an even bigger smile as he hopped down from the steps. The rest of his family quickly followed as he flung open the door and gasped, "Santa!"

Luke frowned slightly; he didn't remember this part of the plan, "Santa?"

Luke and Lorelai stood behind their son as a tall figure turned in a red suit with a large beard and hat, holding a small puppy in his hands, "Merry Christmas Charlie!"

Charlie gasped, "You brought me a puppy?" He asked in disbelief.

Santa chuckled, "I didn't feel right leaving him under the tree but wanted to make sure he made it inside." Kneeling down he held out the brown, furry pup, "This is David Bowie. Bowie for short. Paul Anka sent him especially for you."

Lorelai grabbed her husband's arm and smiled as Charlie took him into his arms, "Hi Bowie." The young boy said, the puppy licked his face, "I think he likes me."

"Of course he likes you!" Santa said leaning out to ruffle his hair, "You've been a very good boy this year Charlie."

Charlie looked over at the man in awe, "You're really real…"

"Of course I'm real." He said holding his arms out, "Who else do you think would have brought you all these presents?"

"You left footprints on our carpet." He teased, hand on hip, so much like his Mother.

Santa frowned, "I'm sorry. Mrs. Claus always tells me to wipe my feet before entering a house but sometimes I forget." He looked up at Lorelai, "Are you mad Mrs. Danes?"

Lorelai giggled and leaned into her husband, "Not even a little bit Santa."

"Well good." He said with a wink, "I can't have my two favorite Earth Elves being mad at me." He turned back to Charlie, "Did you have a Merry Christmas Charlie?"

Charlie smiled as David Bowie continued to snuggle into him, "The best."

"And you know that your parents love you very much. Right?" Santa asked putting his hands on Charlie's shoulder.

Charlie nodded and looked back at his parents, "I know that."

Santa smiled, "Good."

Lorelai leaned into her husband, "Who is that?" She whispered.

Luke shook his head as he watched his son and Santa continue to talk, "I have no idea." He whispered back.

She turned to him and frowned, "You hired a stranger to come to our house?" She asked.

"I will admit to everything else and the puppy but not the guy in the red suit." He said shaking his head, "That was not me."

"What?" She asked curiously. "But how-"

"Babette has been keeping the puppy." He whispered back as he watched Charlie and Santa walk out to the grass to let Bowie run around a little, "I knew what Charlie's gift to you was so I was waiting for him to give it to you. Then I sent a text to her and she ran the puppy over and dropped him off on the porch. Name I did give him though."

"So Babette sent him?" Lorelai asked looking over at her neighbor's house, she saw Babette and Morey looking out the window who looked just as surprised as they did.

"I don't know." Luke said, "He looks damn real though…"

"I know." She said watching her son play in front of them, "Good choice on the name for the pup."

Luke chuckled, "I thought you'd appreciate it."

Charlie ran back to them, "Can you believe Santa came all the way here to give me Bowie?"

"You are one lucky boy." Rory said from behind her Mother.

Charlie turned and saw Santa laughing as Bowie rolled over; he turned back to his sister, "Hey Rory?"

She smiled at her brother, "Yeah buddy?"

"Look up." He said with a smirk before turning back to the front yard.

All eyes turned as Rory looked above her to see mistletoe hanging above her and Jess's head. She swallowed hard and glanced at him, "Since when do we keep mistletoe in the house?"

Luke smirked and pulled at his wife's arm, "Since I got in the Christmas spirit." He winked, "Merry Christmas you two. Wouldn't want to break any traditions…"

Lorelai and Emily laughed as they followed Luke out to join Charlie on the front lawn. Rory took a deep breath and turned back to Jess who seemed to be intently staring at her, "We don't have too…" He whispered.

"Jess." She whispered softly, feeling scared and unsure yet strangely hopeful.

He smiled nervously and shrugged, "Do you want me to say the words?"

She bit her lip nervously, "I don't know if it will freak me out more or finally get me to admit how I feel too."

Jess turned to look at his Uncle who was smiling at him from afar. He gave Jess a nod and then turned back to watch his son. Jess took another deep breath and turned back to Rory. "I never stopped loving you."

Her breath hitched in her throat, and before she knew what she was doing, she had launched herself at him. Jess caught her clumsily and fell back against the wall opposite them. Rory pulled away and smiled, "Sorry…"

He smiled, "Don't apologize. I'm not sorry you did it."

She touched his cheek softly, "I don't think I ever stopped loving you either Jess."

He smirked, "Look at us. Lorelai and Luke 2.0."

"I think you're right about that one." She said with a blush looking down, "Are we going to do this again?"

He lifted her chin with his finger and smiled, "Only if you want too."

She smiled at him slowly, then leaned in and kissed him again, "Merry Christmas Jess."

He let out a little sigh of relief, "Well what do you know...there was still a little Christmas magic left for us too." He kissed her gently, "Merry Christmas Rory."

Out on the lawn, Lorelai turned and saw her daughter kissing Jess with all her might. She smiled, and walked over to her husband, "You did good babe. Real good."

He smiled and turned to see the young couple kissing, "There was enough magic to go around."

"You made the magic." She said giving his hand a squeeze, "This is all because of you."

Luke shook his head and turned back to his wife, "No Lorelai. It's because of you."

She frowned and turned in his arms, "But-"

"You know what Santa said in his letter to Charlie?" He said with a smile as he brushed the hair away from her face.

Lorelai smiled as she remember the words but wanted to hear him say them, "What?"

"He said that it's thanks to people like you and Charlie that the magic of Christmas stays alive each year. And he's right. You make everyday magical Lorelai. You have given me a life I never dreamed was a possibility for me and I am so damn grateful for it. I wasn't about to let you down on your favorite day of the year." He whispered.

Lorelai sighed and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "Oh Luke, you could never let me down."

"I meant it you know," he whispered so only she could hear, "I'd be nothing without you two."

She leaned her forehead against his, "God I love you."

Luke smiled and leaned forward to kiss her, but just before their lips met someone cleared their throat behind them, "Sorry to interrupt."

Lorelai turned and smiled, "It's okay Santa. You can interrupt us anytime."

He smiled and nodded his head towards the front steps where Rory and Jess still were wrapped in each other's arms, "Seems like everyone got what they wanted this year."

Lorelai smiled, "You did good St. Nick."

"Your last present should be here any minute." He said stepping back slowly.

She frowned, "What more could I need?"

Santa smiled, "Just a little present from your Dad to say hello and Merry Christmas." He said with a shrug.

Lorelai was about to respond but something cold and wet fell on the tip of her nose. She gasped and looked up at the sky as hundreds of little tiny snowflakes began to fall all around her. She heard Charlie squeal beside her.

"Snow." Lorelai whispered in awe, "It's snowing!"

"Momma look! It's snow! It's finally snowing!" Charlie yelled running at her.

Lorelai laughed and threw her head back as it fell all around her and her son and new puppy danced around her feet, "Hi Dad…" She whispered into the sky, she turned to her husband, "Is this real?" She asked.

Luke smiled and reached a hand up to brush the snow off of her cheeks, "It's real."

She squealed again, "Christmas miracles…" Luke nodded, she turned her head to thank Santa but he was nowhere to be seen, "Hey...where did he go?"

Charlie followed the footprints in the snow until they were gone, "He's gone!"

Lorelai looked around, "He couldn't have gotten away that quickly."

"Maybe he had to go meet Mrs. Claus." Emily said with a smile.

Lorelai smiled back and watched as Charlie scooped up Bowie and ran back to see Jess and Rory. Emily followed him and Lorelai turned to her husband in awe, "You really don't know who that was?"

Luke shook his head, "Not a clue."

She frowned, "You don't think he was actually…"

Luke chuckled and shook his head; "At this point...it wouldn't surprise me if he was."

She was about to say something when she saw a man off in the distance watching them. Her heart jumped in her chest and she tugged at her husband's arm, "Luke, look."

He followed her gaze and saw that it was Taylor standing anxiously at the end of the road. He seemed to have a sparkle in his eyes and he gave them a small wave before turning and walking back towards town.

Lorelai smiled and hugged her husband, "Looks like the Grinch's heart grew three sizes after all…"

Luke smiled and kissed the top of her head, "Christmas Miracles…"

She beamed up at him and pulled his arm towards the house, "Come on! We got a little boy to celebrate with."

Luke chuckled and followed her up the front steps. He paused outside the front door and looked around as the snow started to fall harder. He looked up at the sky; smiled, then turned back to walk into the house to be with the people he loved most. Never in his wildest dreams did he think he would end up here. But however he got here, he knew he'd fight to keep it this way for as long as he lived.

Miracles didn't just happen on Christmas. He had learned that when he met Lorelai Gilmore. And as far as he was concerned, those very miracles would continue to occur until he took his last breath with her by his side. It was a very Merry Christmas indeed.

* * *

 **Well I hope this brought a little Christmas magic to your worlds. As promised, there will be an epilogue coming within the next few days. Thanks everyone! Wherever you are and whatever you celebrate, I hope your Holiday season is full of hope and love!**


	4. Part 4

**As promised, here is the epilogue for the story. I intended it to be much shorter but then another dream struck and it turned into this. This is the end for sure though. It's set 11 years later, Charlie is about 16 by now. This end to our story is a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Just a warning. Enjoy. ;)**

* * *

 _ **11 years later…**_

Luke Danes woke up and rolled over, groaning as his old bones creaked. He turned and saw his wife, older but still just as beautiful as ever sound asleep beside him. A lump formed in his throat when he thought about what could possibly be happening for them in the next few months. But as soon as the thought entered his mind, he shook it away, refusing to let it become a reality. Leaning forward, he kissed the side of her face and then got out of bed.

Walking downstairs, he found his 16 year old son Charlie digging into a large bowl of cereal, "First day of break and you're up this early?"

Charlie looked up and nodded, through a mouth full of food he said, "Got plans."

Luke opened the fridge and pulled out the carton of orange juice, "What kind of plans. It's Christmas Eve."

Charlie shrugged, "Hanging with friends and stuff. Going to Lily's house later with her fam."

Luke frowned and turned towards his son, "What do you mean later? Like for Dinner?"

Charlie tensed slightly and stood up, bringing his now empty bowl to the sink, "Her parents invited me, yeah."

"Charlie, it's Christmas Eve. You have dinner with your family on Christmas Eve. Your sisters are coming in this afternoon." He started.

"Dad, Lily is my girlfriend. This is a big deal that her parents invited me." He said rinsing out the bowl and putting it in the dishwasher.

"You're 16. You're not married to the girl. There will be plenty of other nights you can spend with her." He said.

Charlie snorted, "Not likely since lately you keep me locked up here, at the Diner or helping Mom at the Inn."

"Charlie." Luke said with a heavy sigh, "Right now we need-"

"Mom's fine." Charlie said quickly cutting off his father, unwilling to think of the alternative, "Okay? She's fine. She's gonna be fine."

An awkward pause filled the room for a moment before Luke broke the ice again, "Until we hear otherwise, I really want her to take it easy. And it's been a stressful few weeks as it is. I want you home with your family. You know how much Christmas means to your Mom."

"I'm not a little kid anymore Dad," Charlie said shaking his head, "You can't tell me what to do. I stopped believing in Santa a long time ago."

Luke's heart ached, he looked down sadly, "It was a lot easier when I could still convince you he was real."

"What's all the yelling about?" Lorelai asked as she padded into the kitchen in her slippers, "It's too early for yelling."

"Why are you up?" Luke asked walking over to her quickly, "You should be in bed."

She sighed, "Hon I'm fine."

"See?" Charlie asked grabbing his coat, "Mom's fine Dad."

Luke looked over at his son, "You stay out of this." He turned back to his wife, "I want you to go back upstairs and get some rest."

"Luke really, the biopsy was two weeks ago. I feel much better." She said with a smile, "You need to relax a little. I mean we don't even know what the results are and at the moment I'm not dy-"

"Don't." He said quickly, "Don't even."

She sighed and put her hand on his arm, "Luke...I need you to calm down a little. Loosen the reigns a bit. I'm fine."

"Yeah Dad. Loosen the reigns on both of us." Charlie said pulling his hat on, "I'm going out."

"Where are you going so early?" Lorelai asked watching her son walk towards the back door.

"Your son is spending the day with his buddies and then he thinks he's having dinner with Lily and her parents." Luke said crossing his arms over his chest.

Lorelai paused and looked at her son, "Dinner at Lily's?"

Charlie sighed, "See this is why I didn't even ask. I knew you'd both say no."

"Well...I didn't say no." Lorelai said cringing slightly, "I just...I just assumed you'd be with us for Christmas. Like you always have been." She shrugged, "Plus it's the first year that everyone will be here. Both of your sisters and Jess and the kids."

"Only reason April is coming this year too is because Dad guilted her." Charlie said eyeing his father.

Lorelai smiled sadly, "I imagine he did. He's good at that. Especially lately…"

"You know what?" Luke said angrily, "Do whatever you want Charlie. You're right. You're 16. Not a kid anymore. You wanna spend Christmas with another family? Go ahead? What do I care?"

"Luke…" Lorelai said reaching out to grab his arm to stop him.

"I'm going to the Diner." Luke said brushing past her and walking towards the stairs to change.

Charlie went to slip out of the room but Lorelai called out to him, "Charlie…"

She spoke in that voice that broke through him, the same way it brought through to his Dad he imagined. "Mom, I just can't right now. Okay? I can't…"

She sighed and looked down, "Will you meet me later for lunch at the Inn?"

He sighed again and looked at her, "Mom…"

"Please." She said hopefully, "You don't even have to stay the whole time. Just a quick cup of coffee and then you can go. I'm leaving by 1 anyway. Your Dad won't let me work a full day until we hear from-" She paused when she saw her son cringe, "I just-"

"I'll be there at noon." He said looking back at her, he leaned forward and kissed the side of her face, "Love you Mom." He turned and called out, "Come on Bowie. Let's go!"

Charlie's once puppy, but now full-grown chocolate lab came barreling into the kitchen ready to go with his best friend. Lorelai smiled, patted his head and then smiled at her son as the two walked out the back door. She stood in the kitchen for a moment, trying to keep her mind from wandering. After a minute, she heard her husband coming back down the stairs.

She took a deep breath, plastered a smile on her face for him and spoke softly when he came in, "You didn't have to not set your alarm again this morning you know."

He didn't look at her as he flipped on the coffee pot, "I want you to get your rest."

She watched him navigate the kitchen, grabbing her usual morning essentials without giving it a second thought, "I know you do. But hon I-"

"I'll be home around 2. I'm closing up early and then I'll be here to start dinner. Jess said they are meeting April and Peter at the airport and all just driving here together." He said, "The kids are all not sick anymore which is good too because I didn't want them around you if-"

"Luke." She said cutting him off and grabbing his arm, "Babe look at me."

He tensed for a moment before slowly turning his body towards hers, "What?"

"You know I love you right?" Her eyes welled up with tears and he had to look away, "Luke, look at me."

He swallowed hard and turned his face towards hers, fear and pain stared back at her, "I can't-"

"I know." She said nodding her head but trying to smile, "I know. But we have to talk about the possibilities here. Ignoring it isn't going to help any of us. And Charlie is struggling too and I-"

"Charlie's being stubborn." Luke said quickly, "This new teenage attitude of his has got to go."

Lorelai smiled, "Like father like son with the stubbornness."

Luke huffed, "You're not any better."

She shrugged, "Maybe not. But we're all just doing the best we can, okay? You need to realize that he's just as scared as we are."

Luke looked down, "Then he should be here with his family tonight if he's so scared."

"You and I both had a knack for running away when we got scared. Something we unfortunately passed on to our offspring." She said with a smile, "Just keep that in mind, okay?"

He sighed again and then looked up at her face, "I need to get to the Diner."

She nodded slowly and stepped back, "Okay."

"You're coming home early right?" He asked, "Michel said he made sure you were done at one. I want you to come home and rest for a bit. I've got everything all under control." He said holding her hands in his.

She smiled and leaned up on her tiptoes, "I still believe in Christmas miracles Luke. And so should you."

He closed his eyes for a moment, leaned down and kissed her forehead, "I love you crazy lady."

She squeezed his hands as he pulled away, "I love you too."

He gave her a weak but hopeful smile and then grabbed his coat and walked out the door. Lorelai took a few steadying breaths and got ready to face the day. She just wished she could get the news sooner rather than later. The waiting seemed to be killing them all slowly. She just hoped the news was good and not bad…

There had to be a little Christmas magic left for all of them, didn't there?

* * *

A little before noon, Charlie sat at his friend Mike's house while they all played some mindless video game. Lily was sitting beside him, trying to engage him conversation. He was petting Bowie, not listening much to what she had to say. Bowie went everywhere with him. He always had. And in the last few weeks, Bowie was the only real confidant he had.

"Charlie, you're not even listening to me." Lily said with an exasperated sigh, "Did you hear anything that I said?"

He looked up at her slowly, "Huh?"

She sighed again and then smiled sadly, "Still no word from your Mom's doctor huh?"

Charlie shook his head, "Nope." He sat up and looked at his phone, "Crap. I told my Mom I'd meet her for lunch at the Inn. I gotta go."

"Charlie." She said grabbing onto his hand, "Are you okay?"

He tried to smile, but he failed miserably, "I'll see you later, okay?" He kissed her gently and then patted his leg, "Come on Bowie."

The Dog obediently got up and followed him as he yelled goodbye to his friends. Charlie shrugged on his coat, and said goodbye and Merry Christmas to Mike's parents before exiting through the front door. He walked the familiar streets of Stars Hollow and waved at neighbors as he went. He stopped when he reached his Father's Diner, he saw him working hard (as always) through the window.

He loved his Dad. He admired him. He looked up to him always. When he was little they were inseparable. Always playing baseball, talking about cars, camping, fishing. You name it, they did it together. He was just as close with his Mom too. But in the last year since he started dating Lily, he knew he had given them both less and less of his time. It was wrong...but it was just the way it was. He had different priorities now.

He hadn't felt much guilt about it. That was until a week before Thanksgiving when his parents sat him down and told him that Lorelai had found a lump in her breast. She was scheduled to have a biopsy done in Early December. They both talked to him (mostly Lorelai), trying to assure him that everything would be fine. Telling him that there were advances in medicine now and that they didn't want him to worry.

He knew his parents were older than most of his friends parents. They had had him later on in their life and as a kid it never really phased him. But for the first time ever, Charlie was faced with the reality of losing his parents, something he wasn't sure he was ready to face. The only real death he had ever faced was his Grandma when he was 10. That had been hard, he hadn't understood it. But now, 6 years later he couldn't fathom the idea of never seeing his Mother's face again.

He hadn't said much when they told him the news. Just nodded his head a lot. He refused to cry. He vaguely recalled asking his Mom if she was in any pain. She smiled and assured him that at the moment she was fine. Then he remembered getting up, hooking up Bowie's leash and saying he was going to Lily's, his escape from it all.

He remembered seeing the disappointment in his Dad's eyes and the way his Mom's eyes teared up. But as usual she put on that million-dollar Lorelai smile and squeezed his hand, asking him to be home by 10:30. He replied that he would be, grabbed his keys and walked out to the truck he and his Dad had fixed up for him. He looked back at the house once, and then climbed behind the wheel, unable to process what had just been said.

When he reached Lily's house, he kissed her and told her that he needed her. He hadn't crossed that line with her...not yet. Sure he wanted too but something always held him back. He cared deeply for her, but he wasn't sure it was love. And his father had always told him that his first time should be with someone he loved…

It would have been easy to give in that night, but instead Charlie did something he hadn't done in years. He cried. And Lily didn't ask questions; she just let him do what he needed to do. Bowie sat beside him, loyal and patient as ever.

Now over a month later, Charlie had spent as little time as possible at home. He had always felt safe there, but lately he felt trapped. He couldn't look at his Mom without wanting to cry and beg her to be okay. So he ran away, something he heard his parents both did too.

Snapping out of his gaze, he looked up and noticed that his Father was staring at him through the window of the Diner. He had a questioning look on his face; Charlie lifted his hand and gave him a swift wave before turning and walking in the direction of the Dragonfly.

Climbing the steps, he brushed his hands along the doorframe, something he had seen his father do a thousand times. He stepped in the lobby, and smiled as the guests huddled by the fire getting ready to spend a cozy Christmas at the little Connecticut Inn. Charlie walked towards the front desk and nodded towards Michel, "Hey Michel."

"Charles." Michel said with a slight smile, "Here to see your Mom?"

"Promised her I'd have lunch with her." Charlie said with a shrug, "And can you stop calling me Charles?"

Michel rolled his eyes, "It is your birth name and that is what I will call you. Charles is so much more sophisticated than Charlie."

Charlie chuckled, "Whatever you say Michel. Where's Mom?"

"Her office." Michel said looking behind him, "No news yet?" He asked in a soft voice.

Charlie looked down and shook his head, "Nope." He turned, "Come on Bowie."

"Why is it that your mutt is allowed in here and not mine?" Michel asked.

"Bowie's family." Charlie teased, "Plus he doesn't eat people's shoes." He laughed when he heard Michel mutter something under his breath in French before he reached his Mom's office, "Hey Ma."

Lorelai turned from her desk and smiled, "You came."

He shrugged and walked into the small room, sitting on the edge of the desk, "I said I would."

"A man of his word." She said squeezing his hand, "Just like your Father."

Charlie smiled weakly, "Dad pissed at me still?"

"Honey he's not pissed at you." She said standing up and pushing in her chair, "He's just…" She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, "Struggling right now. We all are. You know he lost his Mom and Dad young and-"

"You're not going anywhere." Charlie said quickly, they hadn't talked much about anything but he refused to let her think she was leaving, "You're just not."

She smiled softly and ran a hand through his black curls, "Again, so like your Father. Not willing to think past what you want." He opened his mouth to protest but she shook her head, "It's not that I want to be sick Charlie. I just really need you both to think about all the possibilities here. If the results come back...and I am…" She stuttered and swallowed the lump in her throat, "I need to know that you're both going to be okay."

Charlie frowned, "How are we supposed to be okay without you?"

The way his voice cracked reminded her so much of Luke, "You're both a lot stronger than you realize." She whispered sadly, "My two brave boys." Charlie sighed and turned away, she turned his face towards hers, "Promise me that no matter what happens you and your Dad will always be close, okay?"

He cringed, "Mom-"

"You weren't supposed to happen for us." She said in a choked voice, "We never saw you coming but you are without a doubt the best thing that ever did happen to us. We both love you so much and I know your Dad can be a little hard on you sometimes. But he just…" She sighed and squeezed his hand, "He adores you kid. And he never wants anything bad to happen to you...believe it or not he's just as scared as you are right now. We all are."

"Yeah." Charlie whispered sadly, "I know…"

She leaned down and kissed the side of his face, "Come on. Let's go have some lunch."

Just as she reached the door he called out to her, "Mom?" She turned slowly and smiled, waiting for him to speak, "If the results are…" His voice trailed off and he cringed, "Just...please fight, okay?" Her heart ached as he continued to speak, "For us. Just...fight. We need you."

She held her hand out and he got up to take it, "I love you little boy."

He rolled his eyes, "Mom…"

She chuckled and pulled him close, looping his arm with hers, "I'm gonna fight like hell if it comes to it bud. You'll see."

Charlie smiled to himself, realizing that his Mom was the most stubborn person in the universe. And if push came to shove, she wasn't about to go down without a hell of a fight. With that knowledge, he still had a little hope left.

* * *

At the Diner, the door opened and a troop of familiar faces walked in.

"Grandpa!" A little voice yelled as she ran towards him.

Luke turned and smiled, looking down, "There's my beautiful girl." He scooped her up and smiled, "How are you little lady?"

"I'm good." Little Katie said, the spitting image of her mother Rory, "Mommy said we get to stay here until New Years this year!"

Luke smiled, "That's right." He looked past her and smiled at Rory and Jess as they walked into the Diner behind their daughter, their son Aiden fast asleep in his Father's arm, "A whole week."

Katie smiled, "Where's Grandma?"

"You'll see her at home later. But you should try and let her get some rest, okay?" Katie jumped down from her Dad's arms and went to see April and her fiancé Peter as they walked in, "Everyone's here, huh?"

"Yep. We wanted to stop in here before we went to the house." Jess said, "Are you sure we can all fit? We can crash up in the apartment if-"

"No." Luke said shaking his head, "Lorelai wants you all with us. It might be a little tight but we'll make it work."

Rory's blue eyes filled with tears for a moment, "Nothing yet?"

Luke smiled and reached out to squeeze his stepdaughter's hand, "Not yet."

Rory sighed and fidgeted slightly, "I hate this waiting game."

"I know. So do I." Luke said nodding firmly, "But if it helps, your Mom is as cheerful as ever."

"That's Lorelai for ya." April said walking towards them as she hugged her Dad, "Never lets anyone see her sweat." She paused, "How are you doing Dad?"

He shrugged, "Just worried…"

"I know." April said giving his arm a squeeze, "But she needs you to be healthy and okay too ya know."

Luke smiled, "Yeah. I know." He looked past his daughter, "Hey Pete. Glad you can could join us this year."

"Glad to be here." Pete said, "First time celebrating Christmas actually."

"Your parents weren't upset about you missing Hanukkah?" Jess asked.

"April and I are gonna drive up on the 27th so we can celebrate a few of the nights with them. Then we'll be back down here." He answered.

"If you need to be with them-" Luke said.

Pete smiled, "We need to be here Luke."

Luke smiled gratefully, he was quite happy with his daughter's choice of a future husband. And he was damn happy that Jess and Rory had finally figured it out too. Right now, more than ever it felt good to be surrounded by people that loved him.

"Hey," Katie said walking towards Luke again, "Where's my Uncle-Cousin." She said with a frown.

Luke rolled his eyes and looked at Jess, "Why did you teach her that?"

"Hey, we're not the most conventional family." Jess said with a shrug as his son began to wake up in his arms, "Just telling her the truth."

Luke sighed and looked back down at Katie, "He's not here right now but I'm sure you'll probably see him later."

Katie just shrugged and walked away again to talk to Caesar, "Probably see him?" Rory asked, "Where is my little brother?"

Luke frowned, "He's with friends...might have dinner with Lily and her family tonight."

"Christmas Eve dinner with the girlfriend's parents?" April asked, "That's pretty serious…"

Rory turned back to Luke, "And you're just letting him go? Christmas is Mom's favorite. He should be-"

"I know." Luke said quickly, "Trust me. I'm not happy about it. But Charlie's…"

His voice trailed off and Rory whispered, "Not handling things so well, huh?"

"Are any of us really?" Luke asked with a sigh, "He's more like me than I ever realized. Ready to run whenever your Mom walks into the room. It's like he can't even look at her."

Rory's lower lip trembled, "I can't picture Mom being sick...it doesn't make sense to me."

"Well we don't know anything yet for sure." April said behind her, "We can't jump to conclusions yet."

"But still." Rory whispered, "I keep trying to pretend it's not happening but this is real. This could really be happening…"

"I know." Luke said sadly, "But right now I think what we need to do is just put on a brave face and make sure this is your Mom's best Christmas yet. Okay?"

Rory took a deep breath and wiped at her eyes, "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

Luke smiled, "Why don't you guys head to the house? I'm gonna finish up here then come home. Your mom will be there soon too."

"Okay." Rory said giving his hand a squeeze, she turned towards the counter, "Come on Katie."

A mop of curly brown hair turned the corner and showed a face covered with sprinkles, "Okay!"

Everyone laughed and rolled his eyes, "Just another Gilmore Girl to drive me completely insane."

Rory laughed and tugged on Luke's arm, "You're a lucky man Luke."

He smiled back down at her, "The luckiest."

The group gathered their things and exited the Diner to head back to the house. Luke watched them go and hoped he could do as he had asked them, keep it together for his wife's safe.

* * *

Meanwhile at the Inn, Lorelai and Charlie were finishing up their meal. Lorelai bent down and fed Bowie the scraps from the table, his tail wagged happily up at her.

"Can you believe he's 11?" Lorelai asked ruffling his fur, "Seems like just yesterday Santa was delivering him to you on Christmas morning."

Charlie smiled, "Yeah...time sure has flown by."

"You have no idea." She said with a sad smile, "One minute you were my tiny little baby and now you're taller than me!"

Charlie smirked and shrugged his shoulders, "Only by an inch."

Lorelai smiled at her son, "That was a really good Christmas, don't you think?"

Charlie thought quietly, "The best…" He whispered, "The footprints, the sounds on the roof, the puppy. Dad outdid himself that year."

"He wanted you to believe." Lorelai said with a shrug, "He wasn't ready for the magic to be over yet."

"I know." Charlie said leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees, "How come Taylor never told you guys who he had dress up as Santa?"

Lorelai smiled, "Who says it was someone dressed up? It could have been the real thing."

Charlie laughed, "Yeah maybe…"

Lorelai glanced over at the clock, "I need to be home in ten minutes or your Dad will come here looking for me." She reached into her pocket, "You heading over to Lily's?"

Charlie cringed slightly, "Yeah. I think so."

She didn't say anything just smiled, "Okay. Well then I guess I'll see you later tonight?"

Charlie looked up at her, "Mom-"

"Your Dad doesn't mean to be so hard on you ya know." She said softly, "He just...he hates how fast time is moving too. When you get to our age it's like a race against the clock. Every second counts. The holidays are hard...he wants them to be like they used to be. Neither of us are ready to let go."

Charlie swallowed hard and looked down, "I know…"

Leaning forward, Lorelai slipped something into her son's hand, "Merry Christmas Charlie."

Without another word, she turned and walked towards her office, leaving Charlie alone with the paper and his thoughts. He stared down at it, it was folded and he couldn't read what it said. Being as stubborn as ever, he wasn't willing to look at it quite yet. Calling out to Bowie, he stood up and made his way towards the front door and walked back towards Lily's where he had left his truck earlier that morning.

She greeted him with a kiss at the door, and once again Charlie put all his worries in the back of his mind not ready to face any of it quite yet.

* * *

Lorelai woke up from a nap, smiling when she felt four eyes staring intently at her.

"Well, well, well." She said as she sat up, "Who let you two monsters out of your room?"

"Gamma!" Aiden yelled as he crawled towards her.

Lorelai laughed and scooped him up, "Hey little man!"

"Shh…" Katie whispered, "Momma will be so mad if she found out we woke you up."

"Momma is so mad you woke Grandma up." Rory said from the doorway of her Mother's bedroom.

Lorelai looked up and smiled, "Oh get in here Rory. Nothing makes me happier than being woken up by my grandbabies."

Rory smiled and ruffled her daughter's hair, "Why don't you take Aiden downstairs and help Dad and Grandpa set the table? I bet Grandpa will let you taste the cookies."

Aiden and Katie cheered and jumped down on the floor and ran towards the hallway. Rory sat down beside her Mother, and took her hands in hers, "Hello beautiful daughter of mine." Lorelai whispered.

"Hey Mom." Rory whispered back in a tear filled voice.

"Oh no." Lorelai said quickly reaching her hand up to wipe at her daughter's eyes, "No crying. There is no crying on Christmas. We already talked about this. We're not going to let this ruin my favorite day of the year."

Rory nodded slowly, "I know I'm just-"

"I know." Lorelai cut her off, squeezing her hands, "Trust me I do."

Rory sniffled slightly, "Are you scared?"

Lorelai took a deep shaky breath and tugged at her daughter's hands, "I could pretend to be a badass and say I'm not scared in the slightest. But...if I'm being honest with my first born I'd have to say that never in my life have I been more scared than waiting for this news."

"Not even when you found out you were pregnant with me at 15?" Rory asked quietly.

"That was a walk in the park compared to this kid." She said softly, "And the thing about it is that I'm more afraid of what it means for all of you than what it means for me."

Rory rolled her eyes, "Of course you are."

Lorelai smiled sadly, "Can we just try and have a good Christmas? Whatever happens after we'll deal with. But right now I just want us to be happy…"

Rory sighed and leaned forward, pulling her Mother into her arms, "I love you Mom."

"I love you too." Lorelai said squeezing her back, "More than you'll ever know."

Rory pulled back just enough to see her Mother's face, "I still believe in Christmas miracles Mom…"

Lorelai rested her forehead against her daughter's and smiled, "Me too."

* * *

Just before dinner, Charlie was talking to Lily's parents in the kitchen.

"So your parents were okay with you spending the evening here?" Mrs. Duncan asked.

"Yeah. I'll be with them tomorrow." Charlie lied, "No big deal. They said Merry Christmas by the way."

Mr. Duncan smiled, "Send our Holiday wishes back please." He paused, "And your Mom...how is-"

"She's fine." Charlie said, clearing his throat as Bowie sat down at his feet, "She's uh...yeah she's good."

"Good." Mr. Duncan said catching his wife's eye.

"Hey Charlie?" Lily asked as she walked into the room, "I was hanging up your coat and this fell out of the pocket. Do you need it?"

Charlie's heart jumped into his throat, "Uh…" He reached out and took the paper, "I…" Suddenly the worn paper seemed familiar to him and with shaking hands he opened it slowly to read what it said.

 _Dear Charlie,_

Thank you for the delicious cookies! Did you help your Dad make them again this year? You always put the perfect amount of frosting on them. I appreciate that. The reindeer especially loved the carrots and extra reindeer food too. Sometimes people forget how hard they work. They wanted me to say thank you.

I know that this year was difficult for you, losing your best friend Paul Anka. I'm sorry I couldn't bring him back for you. But I want you to know that he's safe and happy in heaven. He did let me know that you deserved an extra special gift this year. I want you to know that it's thanks to people like you and your Mom that the magic of Christmas stays alive each year. I would be nothing without you both.

Never stop believing in magic and miracles Charlie. You yourself were a miracle, proof that there is good in the world. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and enjoy your last surprise. He'll be waiting for you out on the front step. I love you always.

Santa

On the bottom something else had been written in different handwriting that he recognized immediately as his Mother's.

 _My dearest Charlie,  
May you never stop believing in Christmas miracles and may you always remember how wonderful the magic of Christmas truly is. I loved you then. I love you now. I'll love you always.  
Mom_

Charlie felt the familiar burning in the back of his throat and behind his eyes. The same burning feeling he had been trying to deny for weeks. Lily put her hand on his arm and spoke softly, "Hey, you okay?"

Charlie cleared his throat and looked down at her, "Oh yeah. Yeah. I'm good." He turned towards her father, "You need help with that?"

Charlie grabbed the plate from Mr. Duncan and walked into the dining room. Lily looked at her parents and they both smiled softly, all thinking the same thing. Whatever he was feeling, he had to work through on his own.

They followed him and all sat down around the table, Bowie sat at Charlie's feet. A welcome guest in the Duncan home. Mr. Duncan said a quick prayer and they started passing around plates of food. But everything they were saying to Charlie went in one ear and out the other. Finally Mr. Duncan paused and cleared his throat, "Charlie, are you sure you're okay?"

Charlie swallowed hard and looked over at his girlfriend's father, "Mr. and Mrs. Duncan...I appreciate you inviting me into your home tonight. But I-" He paused and lifted the paper Lily had handed him, "I think there is somewhere else I should be."

Mrs. Duncan smiled, "Go on honey. Your family needs you."

Charlie looked over at Lily, "Lily I-"

She reached across the table, "Your Mom and Dad need you Charlie. We can see each other on the day after Christmas. Okay?"

He took a deep breath, "You're not mad."

She smiled and shook her head, "I'm not mad. We only invited you because you've been spending a lot of time here." She blushed, "Not that I don't want you here I just-" She paused, "I know you're scared about everything with your Mom. I thought letting you stay here was helping but I think you know where you need to be."

He frowned and looked down, "I need to be with my family."

"Go." She said squeezing his hand, "I'll still be here when you need me. No matter what."

Charlie smiled, leaned forward and kissed her gently, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." She said giving him another squeeze, "Give your Mom a hug from me, okay?"

Charlie smiled and waved to Mr. and Mrs. Duncan before calling Bowie and making his way back out to the truck. He had a quick stop he had to make before heading home to his family.

* * *

Back at the house Lorelai was sitting with Katie and Aiden reading a book. Rory came into the room with a plate of desserts for her Mother, "Look what Luke made."

Lorelai looked up and gasped, "Apple tarts!"

Luke walked into the room with a glass of wine for her, "I called Berta and got the exact recipe your Mom used."

"You're too good to me." She said grabbing one of the little tarts, she bit into it and moaned, "Way too good to me."

"Trust me. I know." He said with a smirk as he sat down beside her.

On her Grandma's lap, Katie looked up, "A boy from school said Santa isn't real."

Lorelai frowned and squeezed her granddaughter, "Well clearly that little boy has been a frequent on the naughty list. Of course Santa is real!"

Katie looked up at her, "How do you know?"

"Well-" Lorelai started but the front door opened in a rush and cold air flew in.

"Sorry I'm late." Charlie said as Bowie ran into the room and started licking Lorelai's face.

"Charlie!" Katie said hopping off her Grandma's lap, "You're here!"

Charlie smiled and scooped the young girl and her brother up, "Of course I'm here! Where else I would be? It's Christmas Eve." He looked over at his Mom, "Are those apple tarts?"

She stared up at her son in awe and smiled, "Just like Grandma used to make them."

"I think you mean how the cooks used to make them as per Grandma's instructions." Charlie teased.

Lorelai laughed and wiped at her eyes, "What happened to dinner at Lily's?"

Charlie smiled down at her, "Got a little reminder from someone special about the magic of Christmas."

She beamed up at him, "Oh yeah? That someone must be pretty spectacular."

"Most important woman in my life." He said honestly looking down at her with sincerity.

Everyone in the room felt the emotion envelope them all. Lorelai snapped out of her daze and stood up, "Are you hungry? Dad's almost done with dinner and-"

"Sit." Charlie said smiling, "I'll help him."

She stared at him for a moment, and then reached forward to hug him as he still held her grandchildren, "You're a good boy Charles Danes."

Charlie laughed as he held her, "Glad you think so Ma." He pulled back, "And for the record, you're a hell of a Mom."

"Mom!" Katie said looking over at Rory, "He said a bad word!"

Rory laughed and wiped at her own tears, "I know. We'll make him put a quarter in the swear jar when he visits us next time."

Everyone laughed as Charlie put down the kids and then walked to the kitchen, Luke followed him and stood by the counter. Bowie sat at their feet; Charlie took a moment before turning back to his Dad.

"I'm sorry…" Charlie said quickly, "I've been…" He swallowed hard and looked down, "This thing with Mom really just threw me for a loop and I don't know how to handle it. I haven't wanted to be around...makes it more real."

Luke leaned against the counter, "I know."

The lump in his throat grew, "She's just...she's Mom. She's this unstoppable force and the idea that-"

"I know." Luke said again walking closer to him, "Trust me, I know."

"I'm sorry." Charlie said with a shrug, "I'm sorry I've been such an asshole."

Luke chuckled, "Another quarter for the swear jar their buddy."

"Dad-" He said quickly but he was cut off when his Dad pulled him in for a hug. "Dad…" He said again.

"I love you kid." He said clapping his son's back softly, "I don't say it enough but I do."

"I know." Charlie said back squeezing his Dad back, "I love you too Dad." He pulled back and held out the letter his Mom had given him, "You're one hell of a Dad too."

Luke looked down and took the old letter, "What is this?"

Charlie smiled as his Dad began to read the words and he softened, "Mom's reminder to me about how damn lucky I am to have you both."

"Charlie…" Luke said swallowing hard.

"That was the best Christmas ever Dad. I remember it all like it was yesterday." He looked behind him and smiled at Bowie, "You went above and beyond and I want you to know that no matter what happens I'm always going to be here for you and Mom."

Luke cleared his throat and looked up, "Well damn kid...you know how to get the waterworks going don't ya."

Charlie laughed and slapped his Dad's back, "We're gonna be okay."

Luke nodded slowly, "We're gonna be okay."

"Come on." Charlie said stepping back; "We need to make this a memorable Christmas for Mom. She deserves it."

Luke nodded, "You're right about that. Help me with the roast? Take it out and I'll check the temp."

"You got it Dad." Charlie said with a smile, slipping the note back in his pocket as he turned to help his best friend.

* * *

Later on that night after everyone was very full, Katie sat in front of the fireplace with a frown on her face.

"What's with the look kid?" Charlie asked leaning over as he ruffled her hair.

Lorelai was sitting beside Luke on the steps, she smiled at her son, "Someone in Katie's class told her that Santa wasn't real."

Charlie raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Katie turned and frowned at her Uncle, "How does Santa get down the Chimney if he's so big?"

Charlie sighed and patted his near, "Come here kid."

Lorelai smiled and rested her head on her husband shoulder. April, Jess, Rory and Peter sat by and watched as Aiden slept on his Mother's lap. Bowie walked over to Charlie and curled up at his feet. "Do you believe in Santa?"

"Of course I believe in Santa." Charlie said leaning into his niece, "But a long time ago when I was about your age...I started to wonder if he was real. And you know what?"

"What?" Katie asked scooting closer to him.

"I was convinced he wasn't real. And boy did he prove me wrong!" Charlie said with a laugh.

"He did?" Katie asked, her eyes were wide as she stared up at him.

Lorelai's phone rang in her pocket; she looked down and felt her heart jump in her chest. She took a deep breath, plastered on a smile before turning to her husband whispering, "I'll be right back."

Luke frowned and took her hand, "Is everything okay?"

She smiled and nodded, "its just Sookie. We've been playing phone tag for the last few days. Just want to say Merry Christmas. I'll be back in a sec."

Luke smiled and watched her get up and walk towards the kitchen before answering the phone. He turned back and saw his son talking animatedly to Katie, he looked so much like his Mother in this moment.

"He left footprints on our floor and ripped his suit! I even heard him up on the roof." Charlie said giving her a squeeze.

"No way!" Katie said excitedly, "You heard him?"

"I did. And then guess what happened." Charlie said with a huge smile.

"What?" Katie asked, her feet kicking back and forth excitedly.

"He was standing out on the porch with Bowie." He said proudly.

Katie gasped, "You met Santa Claus?"

"Heck yeah I did! He had to personally deliver my bud here." Charlie said leaning down to rub the top of Bowie's head.

Katie looked down at the dog, "Wow…"

Charlie nodded, "Yup. We talked; he even brought my Mom snow that year. He's totally real Katie. And your friend who doesn't believe is going to miss out."

Katie smiled at him, "You're right. Santa is real." She turned towards her parents, "Daddy, do you think Santa will bring me a Puppy this year?"

Everyone laughed a little and Jess rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "Oh I'm not sure that was on your list this year kiddo. Maybe some other time…"

Katie shrugged and turned back to Charlie, "Worth a shot."

Charlie smiled, "You wanna see my letter from Santa he left that year?"

"Yeah!" Katie said hopping up and down in his lap again.

Charlie smiled and took the old letter out and held it out for her to see, he started to read it to her as his family watched on.

* * *

In the kitchen, Lorelai had the phone pressed tightly to her ear, her hand was on her stomach, trying to calm herself down, "Yes. Yes. I understand. Thank you. Yes. I will. Thank you so much. Merry Christmas."

She slipped the phone back in her pocket, and wiped at her tears before walking back towards the living room. She saw her son reading the letter from Santa to Katie and smiled, she grabbed onto the banister and whimpered softly.

Luke looked over at her quickly and stood up, "Lorelai-"

She smiled at him and stood up on her tiptoes, wrapping her arms around him she held him close and wrapped her hands in his hair. "Hey."

He started shaking slightly, "That wasn't Sookie on the phone, was it?" He asked holding her a little tighter.

Pulling back she smoothed her hands on his chest and touched his cheek, "Luke-"

He cringed and spoke quickly, "Okay. Everything is going to be fine. We're going to fight this and-"

"Luke." She said again holding his face in her hands, "It was benign. They said I'm okay. It's not cancer."

All the breath released from his lungs and he stumbled slightly, "It's not cancer."

She smiled up at him with tear filled eyes, "No. I'm okay. She wanted to tell me before Christmas. She thought it would be a good gift."

"Oh my God." Luke said pulling her flush against him again, "Oh God. Oh my God."

She laughed as he held her, "It's okay." She squeezed him, "Hon, I'm okay."

He buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed her in, "Thank God…"

"Mom?" Rory called from her spot next to her husband, "Mom?" She called again.

The couple pulled away, both of them not even attempting to hide the tears in her eyes, "Sorry." She said sniffling, "Hey. I'm…" She laughed a little and then smiled at them, "I'm okay. That was the Doctor everything is fine. I'm not-It's not-"

"You're okay?" Rory said in a cracked voice as she stood up and walked towards her, "It's not-?"

"I'm okay babe." She said with a smile as Rory pulled her into a hug, "Everything is fine."

"Oh my God!" She said, mimicking her Stepfather, "This is the best gift ever."

Everyone gathered around, passing out hugs and wiping away tears as they relished in the news. Charlie stood back with Bowie letting everyone get their moment. As they parted slowly, Luke and Lorelai saw their son, he had never looked more grown up in that moment.

"Charlie?" She asked softly, "Honey are you okay?"

Charlie took a deep breath and smiled, "I guess there were a few Christmas Miracles left after all…"

Lorelai let out a little whimper and put her arms out, "Merry Christmas baby."

Charlie leaned forward and held his Mother close, "Merry Christmas Mom." Over her shoulder, he caught his Father's eye, "Merry Christmas Dad."

"Merry Christmas son." Luke said reaching out and putting a hand on his son's arm as he held onto Lorelai.

"This calls for a toast!" Jess said coming back from the kitchen with a bottle of champagne and glasses for everyone.

Rory and April started helping pour and got juice for the kids. Rory turned towards her Mom and smiled, "Mom?"

Lorelai wrapped her arm around her husband's waist and leaned into him, "To the Magic of Christmas, the miracles we see everyday and the love of this sometimes ridiculous and often dysfunctional family. We are absolutely the luckiest sons of bitches around."

Everyone laughed, "So eloquently put." Jess said with a snort.

"Quarter for the swear jar!" Katie said looking up at her Mom.

Lorelai laughed, "Honey I'll put a 50 dollar bill in the swear jar! That's how happy I am right now."

Everyone laughed again and Bowie barked loudly, "What is it boy?" Charlie asked as the dog ran towards the front door.

He barked again and everyone followed him, walking outside to see that it was snowing. Katie looked up and yelled, "What's that?"

A quick flash flew through the sky and past the moon, "It can't be…" Lorelai whispered.

Charlie walked up beside his Mom and smiled, "Why not? Who says he's not real?"

Lorelai smiled and wrapped one arm around her husband, and one around her son, "Best Christmas ever."

Luke smiled and looked at them both, "I couldn't agree more."

The family stood and watched as Katie, Bowie and Aiden played in the freshly fallen snow all thanking their lucky stars that this was the news they had received. Once again, Lorelai and the world had proved that the Magic of Christmas was alive and well. Miracles still existed, you just had to believe…

* * *

 **Hope I didn't stress you out too much. But as always, I bring my JavaJunkie tales to a happy ending. I hope you enjoyed this short, Christmas story as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **And even more so I hope that you have the happiest of Holidays no matter what you celebrate and a blessed New Year. There will be much more from me in 2017 :) Thank you for everything!**


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